Anne Kirkbride

Anne Kirkbride (born 21 June 1954) is an English actress, best known for her long-running role as Deirdre Barlow inCoronation Street, which she has played since 1972.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Career  ==Career[ edit] == ===Coronation Street[ edit] === Kirkbride was noticed by casting directors for the British soap opera Coronation Street when she acted in a Jack Rosenthal play for Granada Television called Another Sunday and Sweet F.A. in 1972. She played the bit part of Deirdre Hunt in Coronation Street from November 1972. The character's popularity grew and after further appearances in 1973, Kirkbride signed a contract with the serial in 1974. Since then, the character of Deirdre Barlow has become famous for her very large spectacles and her husky voice (a result of Kirkbride's own chain smoking).
 * 1.1 Coronation Street
 * 1.2 Other television appearances
 * 2 Personal life
 * 3 References
 * 4 External links

On 29 September 2014, it was announced Kirkbride will have a three month break from the show.[1] ===Other television appearances[ edit] === In 1998 Kirkbride ran away on This Is Your Life during the same time she was battling severe depression <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[2]  . In 2013, Kirkbride completed a documentary entitledDeirdre & Me.This was a 60-minute special to celebrate her 40th year of playing Deirdre.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 2007, Kirkbride starred in the first episode of ITV1's You Don't Know You're Born. ==Personal life<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Kirkbride was born in Oldham, Lancashire. She is the daughter of Jack Kirkbride, former cartoonist for the Oldham Evening Chronicle.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 1993, Kirkbride was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Since then, she has spoken to the British press about her bout of depression following the diagnosis. She was cured within a year of being diagnosed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[3]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">She has been married to former actor, David Beckett since 1992. They met on the set of Coronation Street, when Beckett joined the cast as her character Deirdre's on-screen boyfriend.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4]