Guest Author - Pameline Halstead

Julia Barr

Julia Barr born in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1949. She is probably most famous for her role on the soap opera All My Children, playing the character of Brooke English. She has played the role since 1976.

She took a 15-month break from the show in the early 1980s when she toured with Katharine Hepburn and Dorothy Loudon in the national touring company of West Side Waltz. She also had a brief role on the soap Ryan's Hope just prior to landing her role on All My Children.

Her portrayal of Brooke has won Barr eight Daytime Emmy Award nominations (1980, 1981, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1998 and 2001), and she won the trophy in 1990 and 1998 for 'Outstanding Supporting Actress'. In 1990, she also took home a Soap Opera Digest Award for 'Best Supporting Actress'.

Among her other television credits are Gathering of One, The Adams Chronicles, and a brief role on Ryan's Hope just prior to All My Children. Her film credits include I, the Jury and her off-Broadway credits include Kerouac.

Although raised a Catholic, Julia married a Jewish doctor, Dr. Richard Hirschlag, an oral surgeon, in 1982, and they have a daughter, Allison Hirschlag, also an actress.
Julia is committed to balancing her passion for acting with her passion for family. When she's not at work, she's just "mom," spending as much time with her daughter as possible. She and her husband enjoy decorating their modern New Jersey home and traveling. Julia's household also includes a feisty dog named Nell (a greyhound and German shepherd mix adopted in October 1996); two independent cats (Dinah and Goldie); a "neurotic" parakeet, and a rabbit named Louis.

The actress is the spokesperson for The Fund for Animals, a cause very near to her heart. The fund works nationwide on advocacy, education, protection and rights of wild and domestic animals. Through her website juliarusebarr.com, Barr educates All My Children fans and animal lovers on the protection and care of animal companions.

Despite fan outcry, Julia's airtime with All My Children has diminished quite substantially over the past few years with Brooke only being used to further other characters' storylines