Anna Louise Friel was born on July 12, 1976 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Her acting career was launched when she was cast for the role of Beth Jordache on the British Channel 4 soap opera Brookside. She also was part of British TV's first pre-watered lesbian kiss. In 1995, Friel won the National Television Award for Most popular actress for her work on Brookside. Three years later she later made controversy when she appeared in the television film The Tribe which became most memorable for its nudity and a menage-a-trois sex scene between characters played by Friel, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Jeremy Northam. Her film appearances include those in Rogue Trader, The Land Girls, All For Love, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Timeline, and Me Without You. In 2007, she was cast for a role on a new television series, Pushing Daisies.

Charlotte "Chuck" Charles is played by Anna Friel in the television series Pushing Daisies. She is Ned's childhood sweetheart who is brought back from the dead by Ned, after being suffocated and thrown off a cruise ship. She encourages him to use his powers to help others instead of just solving crime and reaping its rewards. There's a twist to her story however, Ned cannot touch her again or she's be going back to the dead permanently.


(Photo courtesy of ABC)