Michelle Hardwick is one of Emmerdale’s favourites stars and here’s everything you need to know about her life away from playing Vanessa Woodfield.
The star, 46, made her debut in the soap back in 2012 when her character was hired by Rhona Goskirk, an old friend from university, to work as a locum. During her time in the soap Michelle’s character Vanessa has been involved in a number of major storylines.
Fans of the soap have seen her held hostage by murderer Pierce Harris, stabbed by arsonist Donny Cairn and diagnosed with bowel cancer. Away from Emmerdale, Michelle has long campaigned for diversity and equality.
Read more: Jane McDonald on her love of Emmerdale and whether she'd guest star
She married partner, Emmerdale producer Kate Brooks, back in 2019. They couple have an adorable baby son called Teddy.
Below you’ll find lots of details about Michelle Hardwick’s life away from the soap. You tell us how much you love the acting star by commenting on this article.
Michelle’s relationships
Michelle is happily married to Kate and with the couple having a baby boy called Teddy. The soap star first met her now-wife when she was a producer on Emmerdale. The pair had been dating for a little while before they announced their romance in September 2017.
This came some time after Michelle's split from ex-wife Rosie. They dated for three years before marrying in 2015. Michelle and Rosie then split in 2016 and are said to be ‘good friends’ still.
Michelle discussed the break up with the Daily Star back in 2017. She said: "It was one of those unfortunate things where we did drift apart. We had the big fairytale wedding and I still love that day, it was brilliant. It’s just really sad and one of those things that happens.”
When Michelle and Kate married they ventured off to Elvis Presley's iconic Graceland in Memphis, before confirming their marriage by posting pictures of their big day on Instagram. The couple now share their one-year-old son, Teddy, after Michelle gave birth in October 2020.
As part of their IVF journey, the couple chose the donor to be Teddy's biological dad after reading about the characteristics of the candidates, their family life and values. Michelle carried the baby while Kate donated the egg.
"When Teddy is 18 he can find out who his dad is and we’d massively back him," Michelle recently told OK Magazine. "I’d love to meet him just to say, 'Thank you so much for allowing us to be parents and giving us the most beautiful little boy’."
Dealing with online trolls
Michelle has been open about the abuse she has received since coming out in 2013. "The root of it all is always because I’m gay, I’m a gay woman. And it’s like, ‘lesbians shouldn’t be on this Earth, just burn in hell and die’," Michelle told OK!
Partner Kate added: "It’s all pretty horrific, isn’t it? The majority of people are really wonderful and supportive, but, you know, as great as social media can be, there is this real dark side to it as well."
We’ve previously reported Michelle has been forced to call the police after receiving death threats. She said: "We’ve had a bit of trolling over the last few years. And there have been certain times when police have had to be called because there have been death threats.
"When they’re mentioning your son’s name and you’re just going ‘Really? I’m just in a soap you know – we’re not doing any harm to anybody’."
Corrie past
We all know soapland is a small place and like so many of her peers Michelle has been on the soap merry-go-round. Before joining Emmerdale, Michelle had small roles in rival ITV show Coronation Street.
In 1997 and 1998, she had parts as Sheila Dixon and Naomi Russell. Fans will also recall her stints in The Royal and Heartbeat - playing Lizzie Kennoway in both nostalgic dramas.
Michelle has also appeared in Hollyoaks and The Walking Dead. She took a break from Emmerdale for the birth of Teddy but is now back on our screens and involved in some major storylines.
You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars. There you'll also find our Emmerdale features and news about the show's 50th anniversary plans.
Read next:
