Julia Barr (born Julia Rose Buchheit on February 8, 1949 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is an American actress. Barr is most famous for her role on the soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

'', playing the character of

Brooke English Brooke Allison English (formerly Cudahy, Chandler, and Martin) is a fictional character on the television soap opera ''All My Children''. Originated by Elissa Leeds in 1976, she was portrayed by Julia Barr from June 1976 to June 1981 and from Nov ...

. She played the role from 1976 to 1981 and from 1982 to December 20, 2006 and Barr made a special appearance as Brooke on January 5, 2010 as part of the series' 40th anniversary, and returned on February 23, 2010 for a three-month stint until April 23, 2010. Growing up as an only child in Fort Wayne, Barr made her acting debut at the age of 13 in a production of '' Peter Pan''. This helped her decide to pursue acting as a career, and by the time she graduated from college at

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, she had performed in 25 professional productions. She spent two years at the

Studio Arena Theater The Shea's 710 Theatre (originally known as the Studio Arena Theatre) is a theatre in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in the 1920s and briefly closed in 2008 citing $3 million in debt and laying off its staff. It was reopened as the 710 Main ...

in Buffalo, New York.

Career

Barr broke into soap operas with a short stint as bad girl

Reenie Szabo This is a list of characters that appear on the ABC soap opera ''Ryan's Hope'' from 1975 to 1989. A ;Sheik Haroun Al Raschid :(Played by Kaleel Sakakeeny, 1981) ::Financial backer of archaeological excavations ;Ken Alexander :(Played by Will ...

on ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in th ...

''. She was invited to join the cast of ''

'' as

, succeeding Elissa Leeds in the role. Her portrayal of Brooke garnered Barr eight Daytime Emmy Award nominations (1980, 1981, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1998 and 2001), winning the award in 1990 and again in 1998 for 'Outstanding Supporting Actress'. Barr became close friends with noted actress Ruth Warrick, who portrayed her aunt Phoebe on the show until her death in 2005. Barr took a 15-month break from the show beginning in 1981, during which time she toured with

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

and Dorothy Loudon in the national touring company of West Side Waltz. She returned to the show in 1982. Despite fan outcry, Barr's airtime on AMC diminished in the early 2000s with her character Brooke only being used to further other characters story lines. In late 2006, executives at ABC did not renew Barr's contract, and offered her recurring status (without a guarantee of appearances). Barr declined. Fans of the show, and particularly Barr, were upset. Barr's contract officially expired in December 2006 and her last regular episode aired on December 20. The character was not given an exit and simply stopped appearing, which further fueled fan outrage. In 2007 Barr teamed up with All My Children co-star Jill Larson to produce and write a web series titled The Vindicated, which about three women, who are at a point in their lives in which they are without their male counterparts for different reasons. The project was written in 2007 and filmed in 2008. A final product is still in the works. Barr returned to AMC for the soap's 40th Anniversary on January 4 and 5, 2010. Barr again returned to AMC in February 2010 for a brief stint coinciding with the retirement of David Canary ( Adam Chandler) on April 23, 2010. Barr's final return to ''

'' as Brooke English was in September 2011 in the final episodes of the show's ABC run. It was announced in February 2013 that she would appear as Brooke on the show's online revival. On April 29, 2013, it was confirmed that the show had been revived, with Barr playing the role of Brooke English. ''All My Children'' ended again in November 2013.

Personal life

Barr's first marriage, to Richard Barr, ended in divorce. She met her second husband, Richard Hirschlag, in a musical comedy class. Barr married Hirschlag on Valentine's Day 1982 in a Manhattan brownstone. Together they have a daughter named Allison who is also an actress; she briefly appeared as Lizzie Spaulding on ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

''. The couple lives in Englewood in suburban New Jersey. In her spare time, Barr is also an advocate of animal rights. She believes in spaying and neutering, and is a spokesperson for the Fund for Animals. She even recorded a Christmas album in 2002, titled From Our House...To Yours, to raise money for The Fund For Animals. Barr is a spokesperson for First Step, a job readiness program, as part of the Coalition for the Homeless in New York City.

Awards

Won

* Daytime Emmy Awards: 1990, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for ''

'' * Daytime Emmy Awards: 1998, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for ''

'' * ''Soap Opera Digest'' Awards : 1991, Outstanding Supporting Actress: Daytime for ''

Nominated

* Daytime Emmy Awards ** (1980) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series ** (1981) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series ** (1991) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series ** (1993) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series ** (1994) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series ** (2001) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series * ''Soap Opera Digest'' Awards ** (1990) ''Soap Opera Digest'' Award for Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime ** (1992) ''Soap Opera Digest'' Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress: Daytime ** (2003) ''Soap Opera Digest'' Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress

References

External links

*
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Julia 1949 births Living people Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne alumni American soap opera actresses Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actors from Fort Wayne, Indiana Actresses from Buffalo, New York People from Englewood, New Jersey