Coronation Street star Tracie Bennett has seen her fair share of dramatic storylines over the years but her life away from work is much more peaceful.

The actress, 60, lives a relatively quiet life away from Weatherfield despite having a glittering showbiz and entertainment CV, enough to make anybody jealous.

Over the years, Tracie has landed some impressive roles and awards over the years and even jumped ship from the United Kingdom in favour of a life over in America.

Now, as Tracie's character Sharon Gaskell exits Corrie once more, Daily Star is here to bring you all you need to know.

Coronation Street breakthrough

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Tracie burst onto ITV screens back in 1982 as the foster child of Rita and Len Fairclough but caused the local businesswoman several headaches.

However, her time with Rita and Len came to an end in the same year after social services found her a job in Sheffield, South Yorks, as a kennel maid.

Sharon returned to the cobbles just one year later after hearing that Len had tragically died in a car accident before eventually departing again just several days later.

Her character made an appearance once again in January 1999 after inviting Rita to her wedding with Ian Bentley but despite Ian's infidelity, she remained loyal and stayed with her husband.

It was during this time that Sharon attempted to sell The Kabin without Rita knowing but eventually settled down in Bolton, Manchester, with the cash she made from selling the corner shop back to her former foster mother.

Sharon left the famous street back in 1999, leaving Rita in a state of despair.

West End success

While Tracie may have been known as a soap actress, the star made sure people were aware she could also perform on a stage.

During her hiatus from Corrie, the Leigh-born star has appeared in several hit West End productions including Blood Brothers, Chicago and Hairspray.

Tracie landed herself prestigious Olivier Awards for Best Supporting Role in Hairspray and She Loves Me, as well as being nominated for three more Olivier's.

In February 2010, Tracie stepped into the shoes of Judy Garland in the first-ever London production of End of The Rainbow, portraying the stars turbulent life.

The actress received critical acclaim for her performance with chat show host Paul O'Grady saying he had "never seen anything like it."

Her performance later her saw her receive an Olivier and Tony Award nomination.

Soap Rivalry

During her break from Coronation Street, Tracie appeared in many TV shows but most famously appeared in the BBC One medical drama, Casualty.

The star appeared on the show as the recurring patient, Molly Drover, as well as taking on several other characters beforehand.

Molly would frequently make her way to the emergency department of the Holby City hospital and always requested the attention of one doctor, Zoe Hannah (Sunetra Sarker).

However, she was drunk most of the time she was taken into the emergency department but the real reason for her turning up was later discovered by Tess.

It emerged that her character had faked an illness to stay in Holby, the hospital where her baby had actually died.

After Zoe had sent Molly on her merry way, Tess informed her of the actual reason, resulting in Zoe attempting to find Molly on the hospital site but it was too late and she had already drunk a bottle of vodka.

Tracie last appeared on Casualty back in 2017.

Private life

Tracie very rarely opens up about her life away from the cobbles and stage, instead opting to remain extremely private.

However, her social media bio states that while she is a British citizen by birth, she is also an American citizen, proudly holding a Green Card and spending her time between London, New York City and Los Angeles.

Ahead of her role in End of The Rainbow, she did briefly touch on her private life, telling Official London Theatre: "I had an American boyfriend once, and he used to take four Nurofen before he went to bed, in case he woke up with a headache."

It's believed that Tracie has never married.

She also revealed last year that she had lost 12 friends to Covid-19, opening up about the grief she was experiencing on social media.

Tracie told fans: "There’s been never ending overwhelming bad news all around me for a while.

"Had to have an emotional cleanse today, to reset. Better out than in. Meanwhile, Thanks so very much for all your kindness.

""I’ve lost 12 friends now. Nobody trains you how to say goodbye to your mates on FaceTime."

Soap star snobbery

Tracie's character Sharon made a dramatic return to the cobbles earlier this year in a storyline like no other, a teen drug war.

After her nephew, Harvey, was arrested, Sharon returned to Weatherfield in order to find Leanne Battersby and hoped to persuade her to change her testimony.

However, in true Sharon style, she had made out she was back to get in touch with her former foster mother, Rita, who she hadn't seen in over two decades.

Despite being thrilled to be back on the cobbles, Tracie admitted she had received some snobbery about her soap career.

She previously said: "I had snobbiness from an actor. I can’t tell you who he is because he’s too big.

"Basically, what they were saying is 'well, you know, soaps are all right, but I have to say it’s not what I think acting’s about'.

"And I just thought - try doing 20 scenes with suicide and alcoholism on the same day, scene after scene after scene. Try doing those costume changes!"

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