Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. She began acting at age 13 and appeared in British television programs, including playing Beth Jordache in the Channel 4 soap Brookside, which featured the first lesbian kiss in a British soap opera in January 1994. She made her West End theatre debut in 2001 and appeared in productions such as Breakfast at Tiffany's and a 2012 staging of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya.
Friel made her film debut in 1998 with Land Girls and has appeared in films including A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999), Timeline (2003), Land of the Lost (2009), and Limitless (2011). In the USA, she is known for her role as Charlotte "Chuck" Charles in the ABC series Pushing Daisies, earning a Golden Globe nomination in 2008. She has won awards including the National Television Award (1995), Drama Desk Award (1999), and Royal Television Society Award (2009), and holds an honorary degree from the University of Bolton. Friel has a daughter born in 2005 with actor David Thewlis.
United Kingdom
