Edina "Eddie" Margaret Rose Monsoon is one of the two main characters in the British television sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, created and portrayed by comedian Jennifer Saunders.

The founder and head of her own PR company, Edina consistently undermines her own professional success through chronic, self destructive behaviour—including drug addiction, alcoholism, and compulsive eating—all driven by her desire to recapture her youth as a mod in Swinging London.

[1] Barely managing to keep her company afloat, Edina's life is kept in order by her long-suffering daughter, Saffron, who has been caring for her mother ever since she was a child.

Edina was an awkward and maladjusted child and was nicknamed "The Shredder" due to her addiction to eating "huge amounts of tissues" and "whole toilet rolls".

As a part of Swinging London's mod and countercultures, Edina finally found the popularity and sense of belonging that had always eluded her, and has spent the ensuing years attempting to relive this era in her life, often to her own detriment.

Due to her excesses, she has suffered a series of lifelong addictions, including alcoholism, drug use, smoking, and compulsive eating, the latter of which compels her to unsuccessfully pursue numerous fad diets.

Though Eddie consistently struggles to keep the business afloat, it still has allowed her to become wealthy and purchase a three-bedroom Holland Park house,[2] which she claims cost £1.5m; unbeknownst to Edina, however, Justin arranged for Saffron to legally own the home in their divorce proceedings.

Despite her financial and professional success, Edina was a largely absentee mother to Saffron, who found herself responsible for her own welfare from a young age.

Over the course of the series, Eddie's PR firm goes through periodic crises that threaten her financial stability, particularly after her ex-husbands learn that she's been collecting alimony and child support payments from both of them for over a decade and cut her off.

Saffron's forgiveness and the news that Kate Moss survived falling into the Thames convinces Edina to swim to shore, and mother and daughter are reconciled.

Edina is mildly overweight but not nearly so much as she believes herself to be and frequently attempts to conceal her bloated body with heavy, swaddling clothing which only adds to her absurd appearance.

Saffron's father Justin, Edina's second husband, is homosexual and for a time has a boyfriend named Oliver, who runs an antique shop with him.

M' didn't breastfeed her as a baby and brought her up on a diet of "chips and lard and potatoes and white bread and suet pudding covered in treacle.

[11] In the movie adaptation, it is implied ambiguously that Edina has a sister called Violet (played by Wanda Ventham), who Saffron refers to as her Aunt.

Edina spends much of her life caught in an emotional tug of war between Patsy, her lifelong friend and corrupter, and Saffron, her sensible, goody-two-shoes daughter.

They are also one another's enablers, encouraging each to behave badly and partake in addictive behaviours like smoking, drinking, and casual drug use (although Patsy is far worse in these areas than Edina).

In several episodes, including "Fashion" and "The Last Shout", Edina demonstrates the creativity, organisational ability and shrewd business sense that have made her successful.

Edina visits her office infrequently, and only for a few hours at a time, preferring to spend her days shopping at Harvey Nichols and lunching with her best friend Patsy.

Other celebrities she gains and loses as clients throughout the series include Emma Bunton, Queen Noor of Jordan, Twiggy and Kylie Minogue.

5), she partners with "PRM", a massive American PR firm, landing "all the majors from the States" including Elizabeth Taylor and Planet Hollywood.

Although she brands it a "multinational media, cable and satellite network with Murdoch airspace and strategic WAP tie-ins", she never manages to produce a single show.

Because of her poor impulse control and the need she feels to display her wealth and success, Edina makes reckless financial decisions and is constantly overspending.

Nonetheless, she continues her lavish lifestyle, which includes frequent redecorations of her house, luxury holidays, a chauffeur-driven Jaguar car, groceries supplied by Harrods, and constant shopping for designer labels.

In "Huntin', Shootin' & Fishin'" (Series 5) Edina bids £30,000 at a Tatler charity auction for a virtually worthless country house weekend retreat, just to impress the British nobility around her.

In Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, Edina finds herself on the verge of insolvency after Marshall stops paying her mortgage and her business nears collapse.