Background
She was born in Oldham, Lancashire, the daughter of Jack Kirkbride, a cartoonist for the Oldham Evening Chronicle.
She was born in Oldham, Lancashire, the daughter of Jack Kirkbride, a cartoonist for the Oldham Evening Chronicle.
She attended Counthill Grammar School, Oldham, and then joined Oldham Repertory Theatre as an assistant stage manager, before progressing to acting roles.
Coronation Street
Kirkbride was noticed by casting directors for the British soap opera Coronation Street when she acted in a Jack Rosenthal play, Another Sunday and Sweet Field Artillery (1972), for Granada Television. She played the bit part of Deirdre Hunt in Coronation Street from November 1972. The character"s role grew and after further appearances in 1973, Kirkbride signed a contract with the serial in 1974.
From then on, the character of Deirdre Barlow become famous for her very large spectacles and her husky voice (a result of Kirkbride"s own chain smoking).
Other television appearances
In 1998, Kirkbride ran away on This Is Your Life during the same time she was battling severe depression. In 2013, Kirkbride completed a documentary entitled Deirdre & Maine, a 60-minute special to celebrate her 40th year of playing Deirdre.
She also completed a documentary in 2001 also entitled Deirdre & Maine. Her late father Jack Kirkbride also gave an interview in the documentary in 2001.
In 2007, Kirkbride starred in the first episode of You Don"t Know You"re Born, a genealogy documentary on ITV1.
lieutenant was revealed she had Irish ancestry in Gort, County Galway. Kirkbride died of breast cancer in a Manchester hospital on 19 January 2015, aged 60. Her funeral was held on 27 January 2015 in a private ceremony.
William Roache, Beverley Callard and her former co-star Johnny Briggs were in attendance.
A public memorial service for Kirkbride was held at Manchester Cathedral on 30 May 2015.