Biography
Denise Black is an English actress born on 16 March 1958 in Emsworth, Hampshire. After studying psychology at the University of London and working in a psychiatric care home, she travelled abroad before pursuing acting. Her first professional stage role was in Miniatures at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. She gained her Equity card in 1980 and performed with the Actors' Touring Company in productions including Shakespeare tours to South America and elsewhere.
Black is known for her television roles as Denise Osbourne in Coronation Street (1992–1997, with returns in 2007 and 2017), Hazel Tyler in Queer as Folk (1999–2000) and its follow-up Cucumber (2015), and Joanie Dingle in Emmerdale (2013, 2015–2017). She has appeared in other series including Midsomer Murders, Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Robin Hood, Casualty and Rivals (2024). In theatre she received the UK Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Play in 2018 for The Cherry Orchard.
