Simon Pegg was born to Gillian and John Beckingham in Brockworth, Gloucestershire. His father was a keyboard salesman and jazz musician and his mother a civil servant. After attending Brockworth Comprehensive Secondary School, he took up English Literature and Performance Studies at Stratford Upon Avon College before earning his Bachelor's degree in drama at the University of Bristol. In 1991, Pegg began performing stand-up comedy at local clubs, after which, he moved to London and became an established comedian which led to an appearance on the television show Asylum (1996).