Veronica Ancona is a Scottish actress, impressionist and author. She first became well known after appearing in The Big Impression.
Ancona was born in Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland and is of Italian Jewish descent. Her father was a commander in the Royal Navy and her mother was an artist who painted the sets at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr. She attended Marr College, a secondary school in Troon. In the programme Comedy Map of Britain she returned to her old school in Troon and talked about her earliest comedy performing experience as part of an improvisation group called Pots People. She made a one-off appearance on Blue Peter in 1986 while she was still at school. She moved to London when 17 to study design at St Martin's, then became a teacher before embarking on stand-up comedy.
Ancona's comedy career started on the comedy circuit and she won the Time Out Hackney Empire New Act of the Year in 1993. For many years she worked extensively in radio and on television shows, such as Fist of Fun, as well as performing stand-up comedy. She also appeared in the first series of The Sketch Show before The Big Impression.