Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an
English actress. She rose to fame in the
UK on
Channel 4 soap
Brookside, and has had a successful career since in UK and US TV and cinema.
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.