Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an
English actress. She rose to fame in the
UK on
Channel 4 soap
Brookside. Her most recent role had been starring as
Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, the female lead in the
American television series
Pushing Daisies. In the film
Land of the Lost, she played a research assistant opposite
Will Ferrell.
Early life
Friel was born in
Rochdale,
Greater Manchester, the daughter of Julie, a special needs teacher, and Des Friel, a former teacher of French and owner of a Web Design Company.
[www.annafriel.org/afsh95.htm][www.bryanappleyard.com/article.php?page=10&article_id=124] Friel's
Irish Catholic father, a former
folk guitarist, was born in
Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up in
Donegal, Ireland.
[www.annafriel.org/aflk99.html][www.guardian.co.uk/film/1998/aug/09/williamleith][www.annafriel.org/aftm96.html] Her brother Michael starred in the Hovis television adverts. She attended
Crompton House Church of England High School, in
High Crompton,
Shaw and Crompton. She then attended
Holy Cross College in
Bury. Friel became interested in acting at an early age and received frequent praise for her work at local talent shows.
[AskMen.com Retrieved on 20 December 2007.]
Acting career
At the age of 13, she was hired for her first professional acting job in the
Channel 4 drama serial
G.B.H., as the daughter of
Michael Palin's character. Her performance led to a series of appearances on various British television shows, including
Emmerdale. In 1992, she was added to the cast on the Channel 4
soap opera Brookside, where she gained greater exposure in the role of
Beth Jordache. Though she only stayed on the programme for two years, Friel's lesbian kiss remains one of the most talked-about moments in British soap history.
In 1995, Friel won the
National Television Award for
Most Popular Actress for her work on
Brookside.
In 1996, Friel courted further controversy
when she appeared in the television film
The Tribe by
Stephen Poliakoff, which included nudity and a much discussed
ménage à trois sex scene between characters played by Friel,
Jonathan Rhys Meyers and
Jeremy Northam.
In 1998 she appeared in the original
Broadway run of
Closer by
Patrick Marber at the
Music Box Theatre in
Manhattan,
United States winning a
Drama Desk Award and a Theatre World award for her performance as
Alice. In 2001, she made her
West End stage debut in
London in a fringe production of
Lulu which also transferred to Broadway.
Friel's film credits include playing
Nick Leeson's wife Lisa in
Rogue Trader opposite
Ewan McGregor;
David Leland's
The Land Girls, which also starred
Rachel Weisz and
Catherine McCormack;
All for Love with
Richard E. Grant;
A Midsummer Night's Dream as Hermia, opposite
Christian Bale,
Dominic West and
Calista Flockhart;
Timeline as
Gerard Butler's object of affection;
Me Without You opposite
Michelle Williams; and
Goal! and
Goal! 2: Living the Dream....
Her television work includes the short lived
The Jury for the
Fox and
ITV1's
Watermelon which was based on the novel by
Marian Keyes. In 2007 she started playing Charlotte "Chuck" Charles in
Pushing Daisies, a new television series from the creator of
Dead Like Me and
Wonderfalls, on the American network
ABC.
Although popular with critics, in November 2008, creator
Bryan Fuller stated that it had been cancelled due to poor ratings. The show ran for two seasons.
In the
pilot season following the cancellation of
Pushing Daisies, Friel was offered six pilots but declined all six roles in favour of focusing on her movie career.
In November 2006, she was awarded an
Honorary Doctorate by the
University of Bolton for contributions to the
performing arts.
She has also been seen as the face of
Pantene Pro-V Ice shine in the
United Kingdom, appearing in both
television advertisements and print advertising. She has also appeared in adverts on television for
3 Mobile and
Virgin Atlantic Airways.
In May 2009, Friel confirmed that she will star in a
West End adaptation of the novel
Breakfast at Tiffany's. The show started in September 2009 at the
Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Friel is due to star in a film
London Boulevard alongside
Ray Winstone,
Colin Farrell, and
Keira Knightley which is expected to be released in 2010. It also stars her real life partner David Thewlis.
Personal life
In 2001, Friel began a relationship with actor
David Thewlis, whom she met on a flight to
Cannes. Their daughter, Gracie Ellen Mary Friel,
[www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3646815/Post-natal-confession.html] was born on 9 July, 2005, at
Portland Hospital in London.
In 2008 Friel began supporting the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign in support of
Breakthrough Breast Cancer, alongside fellow celebrities,
Alan Carr,
Angela Griffin,
Natalie Imbruglia,
Edith Bowman and
Twiggy.
[Fashion Targets Breast Cancer]
Friel advocates the work of the
Burma Campaign UK, an NGO committed to bringing about change in the deeply troubled nation.
Awards and nominations
- 2008 Golden Globe – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical Nomination for Pushing Daisies (nominee)
- 2008 Satellite Awards – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical Nomination for Pushing Daisies (nominee)
- 1999 Drama Desk Awards – Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for "Closer"
- 1995 TV Times Awards – Best Actress
- 1994 TV Quick Magazine – Best Newcomer
Honorary degree, awarded by
University of Bolton.
Filmography
