Bradbury's Derbyshire-born, steel-industry father, Cambridge graduate Michael Bradbury, and Greek mother Chrissi were in the Republic of Ireland when Bradbury was born. The family returned to England, where she attended primary school in Edith Weston, Rutland, followed by King Edward VII School in Sheffield, where her father worked for British Steel and her mother ran a fashion business. Bradbury attended acting classes, and took part as a child in the Crucible Theatre's stage production of Peter Pan, starring Joanne Whalley and Paula Wilcox.