Julie Hesmondhalgh

Julie Hesmondhalgh
Hesmondhalgh in 2008
Born	Julie Claire Hesmondhalgh (1970-02-25) 25 February 1970 (age 47) Accrington, Lancashire, England
Residence	Tameside, Greater Manchester, UK
Alma mater	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1988–present
Agent	Lou Coulson Associates
Television	Coronation Street (1998–2014) Cucumber (2015) Happy Valley (2016) Broadchurch (2017)
Spouse(s)	Ian Kershaw
Children	2

Julie Claire Hesmondhalgh (born 25 February 1970) is an English actress, known for her role as Hayley Cropper in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street between 1998 and 2014. For this role, she won Best Serial Drama Performance at the 2014 National Television Awards and Best Actress at the 2014 British Soap Awards.

Hesmondhalgh's other regular television roles include Cucumber (2015), Happy Valley (2016), and Broadchurch (2017). Her stage credits include God Bless the Child at the Royal Court Theatre in London (2014), and Wit at the Royal Exchange, Manchester (2016).

Hesmondhalgh was born in Accrington, Lancashire. She applied to drama school aged 18 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, Hesmondhalgh was a part of Arts Threshold, a small independent theatre in London, for several years, and worked with Rufus Norris in his directorial debut. 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.

Hesmondhalgh is best known for playing Hayley Cropper on the ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Making her first appearance on the show in 1998, she played the first transgender character on a British serial. Hesmondhalgh took time off between 2000 and 2001 from Coronation Street to give birth to her first daughter. 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 22 October 2007, but returned on 17 November 2008. On 24 December 2011, Hesmondhalgh appeared on ITV's The Cube, winning £20,000 for her Accrington-based anti-poverty charity, Maundy Relief.