Biography

Anne Kirkbride

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Anne Kirkbride was born on June 21, 1954 in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Coronation Street (1960), ITV Saturday Night Theatre (1969) and Comic Relief 2005: Is This the Way to Amarillo (2005). She was married to David Beckett. She died on January 19, 2015 in Manchester, Greater Manchester, England, UK.

Although she was known for the exceptionally large glasses which she wore as Deirdre in Coronation Street (1960) since 1973, in real life, she actually wore contact lenses.
Her Coronation Street (1960) character, Deirdre Langton, became the fourth woman on the soap opera to give birth. Deirdre had a daughter, Tracy (played originally played by Christabel Finch, before Kate Ford took over the role), born on 24 January 1977.
Was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1993 and underwent chemotherapy; she was given the all-clear in 1998.
Is one of eleven Coronation Street (1960) actresses who despite their characters giving birth on the show have never become mothers in real life. The others are Doreen Keogh, Helen Worth, Caroline Milmoe, Naomi Radcliffe, Angela Lonsdale, Vicky Binns, Georgia May Foote, Natalie Gumede, Ellie Leach and Nicola Thorp.
In her spare time, she was a keen painter. It was rumored in 2009 that she was considering quitting Coronation Street (1960) in order to pursue a career in it, but this was not the case.

[Kirkbride on not having children]: "I had vaguely thought about it over the years ad thought it might happen, but it just never did. It's never been a huge problem. I don't think I've missed anything vital in my life. You see documentaries about women who are absolutely desperate to have a baby but I've never felt like that. I never had that overwhelming need that some women seem to have. I love babies and I adore kids. I've always had them in my life. When my nephews were babies I was very hands-on and I fed and bathed them. I loved it but I never really needed to do that myself."
[on her role in Coronation Street (1960)] I wouldn't be here if I wanted to perform Shakespeare. I never really wanted to be an actress. This is a nine-to-five job. This is how I earn my money. The thought of this show coming off or me losing my job fills me with terror.

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