An English jazz trombone player, best known for her work with the Penguin Cafe Orchestra.

After learning trombone at school, at 14 she was already busy playing with brass bands, local dance groups and the Manchester Youth Jazz Orchestra and began her professional career at 16. Among her initial influences were Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Wayne Henderson.

In the 1970s she moved to London where she found herself in demand as a session musician. In the following years she worked with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, National Health, Carla Bley, Robert Wyatt, Joan Armatrading, Chris Rea, Joe Jackson, Bill Wyman, Elvis Costello, Jah Wobble and others. With the horn section, The Kick Horns, she has done session work with Gabrielle, the Spice Girls, Blur, Boyzone, Eddie Reader and Dr. John among others.

In 1984, she formed her own band, the Annie Whitehead Experience, and released her first album. She was also a member of Working Week. She has contributed to more than 50 albums and has recorded 5 albums under her own name. 

In 1991, Whitehead joined the Penguin Café Orchestra where she met her partner and musican collaborator Ian Maidman (now known as Jennifer).

She had been part of the Jazz Jamaican Allstars alongside saxophone player Denys Baptiste and her own band blends reggae rhythms with jazz. In 2003 she played trombone on Robert Wyatt's award-winning album Cuckooland. Lately, she has participated in the Frank Zappa tribute band Zappatistas with jazz guitarist John Etheridge and others. In 2007, she played trombone on most of the tracks on Robert Wyatt's album Comicopera.