Noel Fielding

Fielding was born in the Westminster area of London on 21 May 1973, the son of Royal Mail manager Ray Fielding (born 1953) and Yvonne Fagan. He is of French descent through his grandmother. He grew up in Mitcham, Southwest London and on his upbringing Fielding commented in 2013 that "My dad was so young, you know when I was 10 he was only 28, 29, so, thats mind blowing. When i was 20 he was only in his late 30s, he was my age now, so I've sort of had some brilliant years out of my mum and dad you know like, and also they were quite young and tolerant and easy going and up for doing stuff." When Fielding was three years old, his father remarried, and Fielding was mostly raised by his grandmother. He describes his grandmother as someone he had a lot of respect for, saying "My grandma is really strong. I like strong women. That's what I respond to."

His father and stepmother Diane would later become more involved in parenting during Fielding's mother's illness in the 1980s. His mother had two more children before dying in 1990 aged 37 years old, from complications caused by liver damage.

Michael Fielding, his younger paternal half-brother, later played various characters in The Mighty Boosh TV show and live stage shows as well as Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy. His father Ray Fielding as well as his stepmother both appeared in the Mighty Boosh TV show with his father Ray Fielding having several cameos as Chris de Burgh. Julian Barrat's father also made an appearance in the first series of the Mighty Boosh TV show and both his parents appeared in the second series.

Julian Barratt has described Fielding's upbringing as "feral" with Fielding also commenting that "I was like a feral child. I was like 'I'm not eating dinner.' 'Yeah whatever cook your own at midnight.' 'Mum it's midnight should i go to bed?' 'Wa, whatever you want to do.' It was quite bohemian... ...I think with my brother they were like... '...we probably shouldn't let him cook his own dinner of mash potato on toast at four in the morning. He's like six.'... ...Yeah my mum 'n' dad were pretty liberal about stuff."

Fielding has also commented that "My parents had lots of parties... ...They were hopelessly bohemian. ...They were just 18 when they had me... ...they let me stay up. They had their mates there all the time. They just let me eat when I wanted. I didn’t have to eat at the table." and further that "I think they had a lot of parties when i was a kid.... ...I remember my mum and dad having parties where you know someone would turn up and bring the taxi driver in and he would stay for two days.... ...on the sofa." It was also commented that "...they would party through the night and he [Fielding] would have to step over the bodies of their sleeping friends en route to breakfast."

Fielding has also commented on interests he had when he was younger "Growing up I was quite funny, like a cheeky scamp. But I had no interest in being funny. I wanted to be an artist. When our teacher left, she wrote a poem about all her students and she said, ‘Noel is really funny and can make the class laugh.’ And then she said that my best friend Paul was a good artist... ...When you’re a kid the idea that you’re funny means nothing to you. You’re like ‘What’s that, what am I going to use that for?'... ...I wanted to be Picasso."

At the age of 13 Fielding began writing comedy sketches and he has commented that "I started writing sketches when I was 13. I liked Vic Reeves, Fry and Laurie, and Paul Merton, and I thought you could just send sketches to the BBC and they'd go: 'Great, we'll put these on telly.' But I gradually realised that you either had to go to university and join a club, or do standup. I ended up doing both. My first gigs were at university...". Fielding has further commented that "I used to write sketches and hide them, you know, ...like written sketches and stuff. I started writing sketches when I was like 12... ...I wanted to write for like Fry and Laurie or something like that, Fry and Laurie style sketches, and then hide them all away in a brief case and not tell anyone. But then I sought of thought maybe I should do stand up."

At the age of 15, Fielding became a goth and had goth girlfriends. At this time he first tried using makeup and said he loved being dressed up by his girlfriends.

On his time as an art student Fielding has commented "I did a foundation course at Croydon Art College in fine art. It was actually my teacher, Dextor Dalwood, who was the one who told me I should go into comedy. I was 19 when I was studying there, I had quite a good time actually... ." Whilst studying at Croydon Art College Fielding met Mighty Boosh collaborator Dave Brown. Then from 1992 to 1995 Fielding studied for a BA in Graphic Design and Advertising at Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education in High Wycombe, graduating in 1995. In 2011 Fielding received an honorary master's from Buckinghamshire College now known as Buckinghamshire New University. Whilst at Buckinghamshire College both Dave Brown and Nigel Coan were studying the same course as Fielding and all three shared a student house together. Nigel Coan also collaborated with Fielding on the Mighty Boosh. After they had lived together in student housing whilst at Buckinghamshire College, Fielding, Brown and Coan also later lived together in a flat in Hackney, London.