Biography
Date of Birth
28 December 1981, New York City, New York, USA
Birth Name
Julia O'Hara Stiles
Height
5' 7" (1.7 m)
Mini Biography
Lovely, slim-eyed blonde Julia (O'Hara) Stiles, of Irish, English and German heritage, was born on March 28, 1981 in New York City, the outgoing daughter and eldest of three children of a Greenwich Village artist mother, Judith Newcomb Stiles, and an elementary school teacher father, John O'Hara.
Encouraged to take modern dance lessons, she was introduced to Shakespeare and theater at an early age. When she was 11, she made her stage debut as a child actress with the experimental off-Broadway La MaMa Theatre. Her passion grew and by the next year was performing professionally and working in commercials. A bright, precocious student, she was seriously considered for the child vampire role of Claudia in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) but lost out in the end to Kirsten Dunst. She continued training at New York's Professional Children's School and, at 15, made her cinematic bow with I Love You, I Love You Not (1996) with Claire Danes.
Julia was next featured as the daughter of Harrison Ford in The Devil's Own (1997), with her breakout role occurring on TV with the hard-hitting mini-movie Before Women Had Wings (1997), which was produced by Oprah Winfrey and dealt with child abuse. Her wish to play Shakespeare was granted threefold with her participation in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), which was based on the Bard's "The Taming of The Shrew" and earned her the Chicago Film Critics Award as volatile teen Kat; an updated version of Hamlet (2000) which paired her Ophelia with Ethan Hawke; and another updated version of "Othello" entitled O (2001), which involved her high school character of Desi (Desdemona) in a mixed romantic relationship with African-American Mekhi Phifer. The violent-edged film, made in 1998, was not released until three years later due to the Colorado shootings at Columbine High School.
In addition, Julia later portrayed Viola off-Broadway in a Shakespeare-in-the-Park production of "Twelfth Night" in 2002. She temporarily interrupted her career after deciding to enroll at Columbia University in 2000, where she earned a degree in English. Stiles has also returned to the stage, appearing in David Mamet's "Oleanna" in London, a role she would reprise on Broadway in 2009, opposite Bill Pullman and directed by Doug Hughes.
Moving into mainstream roles by the millennium, Julia took on a role that would carry her through the decade, co-starring with Matt Damon in popular Bourne series: The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). During the time between Bourne films, she appeared in ensemble dramas, appearing opposite Julia Roberts in Mona Lisa Smile (2003), won offbeat notice in the title role of Carolina (2003) with Shirley MacLaine and Randy Quaid. She also returned to her indie film roots, with films such as Between Us (2012) and the comedy farce, It's a Disaster (2012).
In 2010, Julia switched gears and headed to series television, joining the cast of Dexter (2006) for the show's fifth season as Lumen Pierce, a performance that earned her Emmy and Golden Globe support nominations. In 2012, she followed this up with leads in two other TV series, the social drama Blue (2012) and the dramatic thriller Riviera (2017).
Married to camera assistant Preston Cook and with one son, Julia's more recent filming has included prominent roles in The Great Gilly Hopkins (2015), Misconduct (2016), Jason Bourne (2016), Trouble (2017), Hustlers (2019) and The God Committee (2021).
e recent work includes
Trivia
Graduated from Columbia University with a degree in English (2005).
Chosen as one of Teen People Magazine's "21 Hottest Stars Under 21". [1999]
Has been in three films inspired by William Shakespeare's plays: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) (The Taming of The Shrew), O (2001) (Othello), and Hamlet (2000) (Hamlet).
In 1999, Julia graduated from New York's Professional Children's School, which prepares students for careers in the arts.
During her hiatus from Save the Last Dance (2001), she signed up with Habitat for Humanity International, an organization that builds homes for the needy.
Voted one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. [2001]
Was a college classmate of Anna Paquin at Columbia University.
One of Teen People Magazine's "25 Hottest Stars under 25" [2002]
Julia Stiles began her career at the La Mama Theater and the Kitchen Theater in New York.
Won the 2001 Teens Choice Drama Award for her role in Save the Last Dance (2001).
No longer a vegan and when Conan O'Brien asked her what the first bite of a hamburger was like she responded, "The word orgasm comes to mind." (December 2003).
Has dated the Prince of Denmark in two movies, Hamlet (2000) and The Prince and Me (2004).
She has Irish, English, and German ancestry. Her parents are John O'Hara and Judith Stiles.
Is a die-hard New York Mets fan.
After a 39-minute rain delay and dressed with a Mets cap, Julia Stiles threw out the opening pitch at Shea Stadium during the Memorial Day game of the New York Mets vs. Arizona Diamondbacks on May 29, 2006.
Considered for the role of Susan Storm/Invisible Girl in Fantastic Four (2005).
She and Liev Schreiber played siblings in Hamlet (2000). The pair later played husband and wife in The Omen (2006).
In 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) her character, Kat Stratford, was reading the book "The Bell Jar" in a scene. Stiles was attached to the lead role in the movie version of the novel for some years.
Dyed her hair blond for Mona Lisa Smile (2003).
Grew up with Claire Danes and Zac Posen.
Has appeared in two movies where Sylvia Plath's novel "The Bell Jar" is mentioned (10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012)).
Attends world premiere of The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) alongside fellow cast members Matt Damon and Joan Allen. [July 2007]
Starring, with Aaron Eckhart, in the two-person David Mamet play "Oleanna" live on stage at the Garrick Theatre in London, England. [April 2004]
Is currently in Iceland while filming A Little Trip to Heaven (2005). [August 2004]
Attends world premiere for The Omen (2006) along with director John Moore and fellow cast members Liev Schreiber and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. [June 2006]
Shares the same name as Humphrey Bogart's paternal grandmother. They both were also born and grew up in New York.
According to the 10th Anniversary commentary by her co-stars for 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), she and Heath Ledger began a relationship during the filming. They broke up in January 2000.
Starred in two movies alongside Andrew Keegan that were based on William Shakespeare's plays: 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) (The Taming of The Shrew) and O (2001), which is a modern adaptation of Othello.
Married her longtime boyfriend Preston Cook following a 20-month-long engagement. They worked on Blackway (2015) together. [September 2017]
Has a son, Strummer Newcomb Cook (b. October 20, 2017 at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital), with her husband Preston Cook.
Sister of actress Jane Stiles. They have a brother, John O'Hara Junior.
Auditioned for the role of Claudia in Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994).
Ex-girlfriend of actor David Harbour.
In 2000 Stiles attend Columbia University. At that time, actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rider Strong and Anna Paquin were all registered students at the university.
Trademarks:
Strawberry blonde hair
Deep sultry voice
Quotes
I am a big fan of horror movies but I had never thought that I had wanted to act in one because I don't think that actors get to do much in them. They're usually just reacting.
I was gonna throw the first pitch at a Mets game, but there was a rain delay. So I'm waiting for it to stop, and the team's manager, Willie Randolph, comes by. Now he's already intimidating to begin with. But he comes over to me and says, 'If you screw this up, they will boo you.' And I said 'Thanks.'
I think audiences, producers and directors included, develop crushes on actors (actresses in particular) and then lose interest and move on to the next one. [...] There are a handful of actors who sustain interest because it's exciting to watch them get better at what they do. I want to be one of those actors.
[on the most challenging aspect of playing Lumen in Dexter (2006)] - I never think of myself as an actor who takes work home with them, but I was surprised, especially toward the end of the season -- around episode 10 -- when some of the details of what Lumen had experienced became really harrowing, and I started to realize that it was affecting me outside of work. One scene in particular, in episode 10, when the detectives have found DVDs showing what has happened to the victims -- it was really dark. It made it more difficult for me to sleep.
[on a scene that stands out most when looking back on her time on Dexter (2006)] In the kill room, when she first gets to put the knife in. That was really special. There was also a nice moment of collaboration where the set designers had put up pictures of all the other victims on the wall, and I remember saying to the director that I felt like it was important that Lumen acknowledge the other girls and say that it was for them, too. We did a separate shot of that, and it ended up in the final edit, which I was really pleased about. It's a great example of how collaborative the show is and what a nice environment it is to work in.
