Julie Claire Hesmondhalgh is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her role as Hayley Cropper in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street between 1998 and 2014. For this role, she won "Best Serial Drama Performance" at the 2014 National Television Awards and "Best Actress" at the 2014 British Soap Awards.

Hayley Cropper is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh. The character first appeared in the episode first broadcast on 26 January 1998. Hayley was the first transgender character in a British soap opera and was the first permanent transgender character in the world of serialised drama. She was married to Roy Cropper. After nearly ten years on the show, Hesmondhalgh decided to take another break for a year in order to spend more time with her family. She left on 22 October 2007 and returned on 17 November 2008.