Julia Barr
- Actress
Julia Barr is an American actress, most famously for her role playing
Brooke English on the soap opera, All My Children. She played the role
for over 30 years, first debuting as Brooke in 1976 and exiting the
show in 2006. Barr made special appearances as Brooke, reprising her
role in both 2010 and 2011. Barr grew up in Fort Wayne, and made her
acting debut at the age of 13 in a production of Peter Pan. She
graduated as a theater major from the University-Purdue University Fort
Wayne, and went on to spent two years at the Studio Arena Theater in
Buffalo, New York. She earned her equity card performing at the Studio
Arena Theater and starred in a small role in "A Girl in My Soup" which
also starred Van Johnson. Not long after marrying her first husband,
Barr moved to New York City and continued working in the theater until
she was cast as mafia daughter Serena Szabo on Ryan's Hope. The role
was supposed to be a two year contract, but the character was written
off after only six months. Barr was then cast as the spoiled rich niece
of Phoebe Tyler on All My Children, replacing Elissa Leeds as Brooke
English. Her character quickly became a fan favorite and garnered eight
Emmy nominations for her performance, winning in 1990 and again in
1998. Barr married husband Richard Hirschlag in 1982, and had a
daughter, Alison in 1984. In her spare time Barr works with a variety
of animal rights organizations and is a spokesperson for The Fund For
Animals. Most recently, she has signed a contract to reprise her famous
role as Brooke English in Prospect Park's online version of All My
Children.