Anna Friel booked her first paying gig at the age of 13 - a role on a prestigious miniseries entitled G.B.H., opposite Monty Python's Michael Palin. This led to a series of appearances on various British television shows, including Emmerdale Farm and Medics, and it wasn't long before Anna found herself added to the cast of the long-running soap Brookside.
It was on Brookside that Anna really made her mark on viewers, courtesy of a salacious storyline in which her character murdered her abusive father. Though she only stayed with the program for two years (her character was killed off at her request), Anna's lesbian kiss remains one of the most talked-about moments in British soap history. Once she left the show, Anna popped up as a guest star on several shows before making her cinematic debut opposite Rachel Weisz and Paul Bettany in the World War II drama Land Girls.
After starring in some uncelebrated films, things began looking up for Anna in 1999 when she made her Broadway debut in Patrick Marber's critically acclaimed stage play Closer (opposite Rupert Graves and Natasha Richardson). The role brought her heaps of kudos from audiences and critics alike, and the actress even found herself chatting up famous fans such as Al Pacino, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson (who swore that he would not rest until he slept with her).
Anna's role in 2005's Goal!, the internationally successful football movie, has cemented her status as one of the hottest actresses in virtually every country except for America. There's little doubt, however, that Anna is destined to eventually join the ranks of in-demand imports such as Kate Beckinsale and Kate Winslet.
Date and Place of Birth: 12 July 1976; Rochdale, Lancashire
Height: 157 cm (5' 2")
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brownish
Quotations: "Some producer suddenly grabbed my doughnut out of my hand. Then he said, 'Anna, you really shouldn't be doing that'. He said, 'your tummy's not looking right on screen'. If it's just about that they should have hired a model. I mean, we're not talking about a big fucking tummy here!"
"Every time it's me and another person down to the final two for a big, big movie, the other person gets it because they're the bigger name. Which, to be honest, totally pisses me off."
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Daniel Radcliffe -
