Gillian Louise Kearney (born 9 May 1972 in Liverpool, Merseyside) is an English actress best known for playing Jessica Harrison in the long-running BBC television medical drama series Casualty, and her early role as Debbie McGrath in Channel 4's Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside and the spin-off mini-series Damon and Debbie.
One of four children born to Gerard and Barbara Kearney (née Allerston), Kearney has three brothers: Matthew, an account...
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Gillian Louise Kearney (born 9 May 1972 in Liverpool, Merseyside) is an English actress best known for playing Jessica Harrison in the long-running BBC television medical drama series Casualty, and her early role as Debbie McGrath in Channel 4's Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside and the spin-off mini-series Damon and Debbie.
One of four children born to Gerard and Barbara Kearney (née Allerston), Kearney has three brothers: Matthew, an accountant; Peter, a chemical analyst; and Tom, a professional footballer. Her father is a retired civil engineer and her mother a school care worker. Growing up in Aigburth — where her parents still live — Kearney attended St. John Almond RC High School (now St. Benedict's College), Garston, where she gained nine GCSEs and four A-levels.
Kearney's interest in acting began whilst at secondary school. After repeatedly being overlooked for the lead roles in school productions, she decided to join the Liverpool Everyman Youth Theatre, where she featured...
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