Anna Louise Friel was born July 12, 1976 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. She attended Crompton House Secondary School, in Shaw and Crompton. The daughter of two teachers, Friel became interested in acting at an early age and received frequent praise for her work at local talent shows.

At the age of 13, she was hired for her first professional acting job in the Channel 4 drama serial G.B.H., as the daughter of Michael Palin's character. Her performance led to a series of appearances on various British television shows, including Emmerdale.

In 1992, Friel was added to the cast on the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, where she gained greater exposure in the role of Beth Jordache. Though she only stayed on the programme for two years, Friel's lesbian kiss remains one of the most talked-about moments in British soap history. In 1995, Friel won the National Television Award for Most popular actress for her work on Brookside.

In 1996, Friel courted further controversy when she appeared in the television film The Tribe by Stephen Poliakoff, which included nudity and a much discussed menage-a-trois sex scene between characters played by Friel, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Jeremy Northam.

In 1998, Friel appeared in the original Broadway run of Closer by Patrick Marber at the Music Box Theatre, winning Drama Desk and Theatre World awards for her performance as Alice and in 2001, Friel made her West End stage debut in a fringe production of Lulu which also transferred to Broadway.

Friel's film credits include playing Nick Leeson's wife Lisa in Rogue Trader opposite Ewan McGregor; David Leland's The Land Girls, which also starred Rachel Weisz and Catherine McCormack; All for Love with Richard E. Grant; A Midsummer Night's Dream with Michelle Pfeiffer and Christian Bale; Timeline, Me Without You opposite Michelle Williams; and Goal! and Goal! 2.

Friel's television work includes the short lived The Jury for the Fox Network and ITV1's Watermelon which was based on the novel by Marian Keyes. She currently plays Charlotte "Chuck" Charles in Pushing Daisies, a new TV series from the creator of Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls, for the 2007 season on the American network ABC.

In November 2006 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Bolton for contributions to the performing arts.

She has recently been seen as the face of Pantene Pro-V Ice shine in the UK, appearing in both television commercials and print advertising. Friel has also previously appeared in commercials for 3 Mobile and Virgin Atlantic.