Anne was born in the Jesmond area of Newcastle Upon Tyne but at a very young age her family moved to Redcar near Middlesborough, She was educated at a Welsh boarding school and started acting because her Geordie accent was so out of place in Wales. Enjoying acting encouraged her to train at RADA She is best remembered as Valerie Barlow in Coronation Street after which she virtually gave up acting to look after her family Returning to the stage she appeared in Billy Liar in the 80's the while appearing at London's Royal Court Theatre she was seen by Hanif Kureishi who gave her the title role in the film Mother which was followed by a part in Calendar Girls with Francis de la Tour but their scenes were cut ,