Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian, and columnist known for his work in The Guardian, The Independent, and Daily Mirror, as well as his radio and podcast series like The Mark Steel Lectures and What the Fuck is Going On?.

Early Life:
Adopted 10 days after birth, Steel was raised in Swanley, Kent, by loving adoptive parents—his father worked in insurance and his mother supplemented the family income with various jobs. Steel always knew he was adopted and felt no distress about it. His biological mother, Frances, gave him up for adoption through his aunt. Later in life, Steel discovered his mother was a politically active Scottish woman married to an Italian, while his father, Joe Dwek, was an Egyptian Sephardic Jew and a wealthy Wall Street trader and backgammon champion. Steel met Dwek once in 2006 but had no relationship with his biological mother, who declined contact before her death.