Julia was born March 28th, 1981 in New York City. She grew up right in Soho, where her parents ran a pottery business together. They encouraged her to get involved with the arts. She decided on acting and began working her way up. Her first big chance came at age 11 at the La Mama Theater, an interview she got by writing a letter to the director begging for an audition. She also worked at the Kitchen Theater, appearing in the plays 'Matthew: School of Life, ' and 'The Sandalwood Box.' She grabbed a few small supporting roles in big Hollywood films, including 'The Devil's Own' with Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford.
The big break came when she was cast in a starring role in the NBC miniseries 'The 60's', a documentary style film that followed the lives of a fictional family through the turmoil that was the 60s. '10 Things I Hate About You' was a fairly good film that came at a great time. Stellar acting by Ms. Stiles, caused the film to rake in millions and become a crowd favorite. She then starred in another teen film, Down to You, with Freddie Prinze, Jr. The film wasn't blessed by critics and did fairly well at the box office.
Besides being an actress, Julia is also known for her ability as a writer. As a teenager, she was a regular contributor to ZuZu which was a New York based children's magazine that existed from 1992 to 1995. It was published by Restless Youth Press, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing original work by young authors and artists. The young and very talented Julia, at the age of sixteen, co-authored a play "The Anarchist's Daughter".