Michelle Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by former Hear'Say singer Kym Marsh. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 3 April 2006. Marsh took maternity leave in January 2011, and the character returned on 3 November 2011. On 24 February 2019, it was announced that Marsh would be leaving the soap after 13 years and Michelle's final episode aired on 27 December 2019.

Michelle's storylines have included a on/off relationships with Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) during which he had an affair with Becky Granger (Katherine Kelly); discovering that her son Ryan (Ben Thompson) was not her own and had been swapped at birth with Alex Neeson (Dario Coates/James Burrows); the death of her eldest brother Paul (Sean Gallagher) in 2007; and the murder of her other brother Liam (Rob James-Collier) in 2008. Other storylines have focused on the relationships with her sisters-in-laws, Carla (Alison King) and Maria (Samia Ghadie) and her cousin-in-law Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis); her failed engagement to Ciaran McCarthy (Keith Duffy); surviving a minibus crash caused by Steve; becoming pregnant with Steve's baby and delivering their stillborn son, Ruairi, before learning that Steve has also impregnated Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson); and divorced from Steve, a relationship with Robert Preston (Tristan Gemmill); being kidnapped and stalked by her ex-boyfriend Will Chatterton (Leon Ockenden); getting shot by Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre) on the day of her wedding to Robert and being terrorised by Ronan Truman (Alan McKenna). History later repeated itself when Robert impregnated Vicky Jefferies (Kerri Quinn) behind Michelle's back.

The character of Michelle was first created as a cameo appearance for singer/actress Kym Marsh with the possibility of returning. She was later signed up to return on a more permanent basis. Of the decision to become a regular on the show, Marsh said: "If anybody had told me I'd end up starring in Coronation Street one day, I'd have laughed and told them to shut up. I've always said this would be my dream job. My mum has watched the show for years so I've grown up with it." In June 2008, Marsh signed a contract for £100,000 after keen producers nearly doubled her salary to keep her as part of the show. Marsh stated she wanted to be on the show for a long time.

Inside Soap announced that a Coronation Street spokesperson had denied reports that Kym Marsh is leaving the show to go to Hollywood. Despite confirmation that her boyfriend Jamie Lomas is heading to LA, Kym will be staying put. With Kym confirming herself that she had just signed another one-year contract. Of the decision to stay, Marsh said: "I am absolutely delighted about it. It's not necessarily always my decision. I mean, if the producers don't want you, you're out. I'm lucky the writers feel that they can still write for my character, Michelle Connor, after doing so for three years." Marsh said she is unsure about her future in Coronation Street. Speaking to PA, Marsh said that she is unsure of what plans producers have for her and that she will have to wait until 2012 to see what happens. She said she would like to stay and added that she is excited to see how the story develops for her character.

Michelle's character has a multi-faceted personality. Of this actress, Kym Marsh said: "The good thing about playing a character like her, she's got so many sides. She can be a bitch, she can be sensitive and she can be feisty too. She's just so well-rounded – there's plenty more mileage left in her." Marsh also discussed her character's personality during an interview with Inside Soap, stating that she thinks her character has a more devious side because she is part of the Connor family. Going on to say that her character has got quite a temper on her and that she enjoys portraying her tough side.

During a magazine interview, Marsh spoke about the effect her relationship with Steve had on her character stating: "I'd like to see a lot more of the old, feisty Michelle. She became a bit too dependent on Steve and now she is an independent woman again I think she needs a bit of a challenge." Of her character's relationship with Peter, Marsh stated: "I think it might be interesting to see where things might go with Peter Barlow. Peter's quite a deep character. He's got a lot of layers, some good and some bad." Going on to comment about wanting her character to be more feisty unlike when she was with Steve explaining: "I think she is suited to Peter because there's bound to be drama. He's not exactly got the best track record."

On 5 December 2008, Kym Marsh announced that she and boyfriend Jamie Lomas were expecting a baby. She was due to go on maternity leave in June 2009 and return at the beginning of 2010. On 12 February 2009, Marsh's son was born 18 weeks early and died shortly after birth. Marsh's second pregnancy was announced in 2010 and she took maternity leave in January 2011. It was confirmed in July 2011 that she would return to filming in September 2011. Upon her return in November 2011, Michelle announced that she was engaged to Ciaran, she learns of Carla's rape ordeal culminating in confronting Frank and taking charge of Underworld.

In January 2015, it was revealed that Michelle would reunite Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) in the aftermath of the upcoming minibus crash storyline. It was also confirmed that Michelle and Steve would be the next Weatherfield couple to tie the knot. Speaking of this Marsh said; "I'm delighted, absolutely delighted. It'll be weird after being Michelle Connor for nearly nine years, but it totally makes sense for us as characters. Simon and I love working together, and nobody likes to see us broken up." It was also revealed that Michelle would get "feisty" again when her Steve is blamed for the mini-bus crash.