Who Is Julie Hesmondhalgh?

Julie Hesmondhalgh (b. 1970) is a British actress, probably best known for playing the role of Hayley Cropper, a transsexual character in "Coronation Street."

Hesmondhalgh began her acting career during the early 1990s, as part of a small London-based theatre company and later in TV shows such as "The Bill," a police drama, which has aired since 1984. Hesmondhalgh joined the Coronation Street cast in 1998, where she plays the soft-spoken wife of a local café owner, and factory worker, who appears to be charitable and kind to just about everyone and is perhaps best known for her strong social conscience. The transsexual storyline did, however, create somewhat of a public outcry on the part of some television viewers in the UK. The early misgivings, however, eventually faded and Hesmondhalgh's character has now been on Coronation Street for about 10 years.

In real life, Hesmondhalgh is married to Ian Kershaw, who is an actor in his own right, and the two of them make their home in Manchester.