Julie Hesmondhalgh

Julie Claire Hesmondhalgh (born 25 February 1970) is an English actress, best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street between 1998 and 2014.^[1][2] She won Best Serial Drama Performance at the 2014 National Television Awards.

Early life

Hesmondhalgh was born in Accrington, Lancashire. As a teenager, she was moderately interested in acting, but wished to become a social worker. She applied to drama school to be with her friends, and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from 1988 to 1991 (one of her classmates was Benito Martinez). On finishing her training, she was a part of Arts Threshold, a small independent theatre in London, for several years. In the 1990s, she appeared in such television dramas as The Bill, Catherine Cookson's The Dwelling Place, and in the Victoria Wood comedic television movie Pat and Margaret.

Career

Television

Julie took time off during 2000 and 2001 from Coronation Street to have her daughter Martha Mo, during this time she was a panellist on Loose Women in 2000, and Live Talk in 2001.

On 24 December 2011, Hesmondhalgh appeared on ITV's The Cube, hosted by Phillip Schofield to raise money for the Maundy Relief charity. She left the show with £20,000 to donate to the charity.

On 1 May 2013, Hesmondhalgh appeared on ITV game show All Star Mr & Mrs with her husband Ian.

Coronation Street

Julie is best known for playing Hayley Cropper on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Debuting on the show in 1998, she plays the first transsexual character on a British serial.^[3]

After nearly ten years on the show, Hesmondhalgh decided to take a break from Coronation Street for a year in order to spend more time with her family. She left on the 22nd October 2007, but returned again on the 17th November 2008.

On 11 January 2013, ITV announced that Hesmondhalgh would be leaving Coronation Street in January 2014 after 15 years on the show, and that her character Hayley Cropper was to be killed off.^[4] She filmed her final scenes on 18 November 2013 and they aired on 20 January 2014.

Stage

From 19–29 September 2012, Hesmondhalgh appeared at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, portraying Sylvia Lancaster in Black Roses: The Killing Of Sophie Lancaster opposite Rachel Austin. The play was based on the real life story of Sylvia's late daughter, Sophie Lancaster.

From 23 January 2014, she will be making her post-Coronation Street debut in a play called Blindsided, by Simon Stephens, at the Royal Exchange, Manchester

Personal life

Hesmondhalgh is married to actor and writer Ian Kershaw. The couple live near Glossop, Derbyshire with their daughter, Martha Mo Kershaw, who was born on October 2001. She is a supporter of Manchester City and the Labour Party.

Charity work

As well as working to raise funds for other charities, such as Mood Swings Network and the Parkinson's Disease Society, Hesmondhalgh is a patron of the following charities and groups: Trans Media Watch,^[5] Press for Change, the Albert Kennedy Trust, Maundy Relief, Exodus Onstage, British Humanist Association,^[6] and the Manchester Lesbian and Gay Foundation. She also supported the Elizabeth Finn Care 'Wrap Up Against Poverty' campaign by donating a red anorak (in the style of her Coronation Street character Hayley Cropper) for auction by the charity.

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

• Julie Hesmondhalgh at Corrie.Net
• Julie Hesmondhalgh at the Internet Movie Database
• Julie Hesmondhalgh at BFI Film & TV Database