Julia Barr (born Julia Rose Buchheit on February 8, 1949 in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

) is an American actress. Barr is most famous for her role on the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' All My Children'', playing the character of Brooke English. 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 Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

''. 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 st ...

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

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

Career

Barr broke into soap operas with a short stint as bad girl Reenie Szabo on '' Ryan's Hope''. She was invited to join the cast of '' All My Children'' as Brooke English, succeeding Elissa Leeds in the role. Her portrayal of Brooke garnered Barr eight

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

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 Ruth Elizabeth Warrick (June 29, 1916 – January 15, 2005) was an American singer, actress and political activist, best known for her role as Phoebe Tyler Wallingford on ''All My Children'', which she played regularly from 1970 until her d ...

, 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 and

Dorothy Loudon Dorothy Loudon (September 17, 1925 – November 15, 2003) was an American actress and singer. She won the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 1977 for her performance as Miss Hannigan in '' Annie''. Loudon was also nominated for T ...

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 ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

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 Jill Larson (born October 7, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Opal Cortlandt on the ABC daytime soap opera, ''All My Children'' (1989-2011), and as titular character in the 2014 supernatural horror film '' The Tak ...

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 David Hoyt Canary (August 25, 1938 – November 16, 2015) was an American actor. Canary is best known for his role as ranch foreman Candy Canaday in the NBC Western drama ''Bonanza'', and as Adam Chandler in the television soap opera ''All My ...

(

Adam Chandler Adam Chandler is a fictional character from the ABC and The Online Network daytime drama ''All My Children'', portrayed by David Canary from the autumn of 1983 through his departure on April 23, 2010, and briefly reprising the role for the seri ...

) on April 23, 2010. Barr's final return to '' All My Children'' 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 Allison may refer to: People * Allison (given name) * Allison (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Eugene Allison Smith (1922-1980), American politician and farmer Companies * Allison Engine Company, American aircraft engine ...

who is also an actress; she briefly appeared as

Lizzie Spaulding Elizabeth "Lizzie" Spaulding Lewis is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light''. The role was last portrayed by actress Emme Rylan from February 7, 2006 to September 18, 2009. She is the daughter of Phillip Spaulding and Bet ...

on '' Guiding Light''. The couple lives in Englewood in suburban New Jersey. In her spare time, Barr is also an advocate of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

. She believes in spaying and neutering, and is a spokesperson for the

Fund for Animals Cleveland Amory (September 2, 1917 – October 14, 1998) was an American author, reporter, television critic, commentator and animal rights activist. He originally was known for writing a series of popular books poking fun at the pretensions an ...

. 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 A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

in New York City.

Awards

Won

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

: 1990, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for '' All My Children'' *

: 1998, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for '' All My Children'' * ''Soap Opera Digest'' Awards : 1991, Outstanding Supporting Actress: Daytime for '' All My Children''

Nominated

** (1980)

for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series ** (1981)

for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series ** (1991)

for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series ** (1993)

for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series ** (1994)

for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series ** (2001)

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