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Born on March 28, 1981 in New York City, Julia Stiles was raised in Soho where her parents ran a humble pottery business. Both Stiles’ parents encouraged her to become active with the arts, so she decided to try acting. At an early age of 11, Stiles got her first acting role at the La Mama Theater, after writing a letter to the director begging for an audition. She then appeared in several Kitchen Theater plays, including “The Sandalwood Box” and “Matthew: School of Life”. On screen, Julia landed a few small roles in Hollywood films, such as Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford’s “The Devil’s Own”.

Stiles accepted small TV roles and guest starred in various series like Ghostwriter and Chicago Hope. In 1997, she was seen in the 1997 CBS TV movie “Before Women Had Wings” and NBC’s 1999 mini-series “The 60’s”, wherein Stiles’ face was painted with an American flag and peace sign as the show’s soundtrack cover and ad posters.

In 1998, Julia played the role of Ellie Christianson in “Wicked”. However, it was only until the 1999 film “10 Things I Hate About You” did Stiles receive much glory to her acting. This role was a personal favorite of Julia’s because she always wanted to play Shakespeare. She won an award in the Chicago Film Critics for this film.

In 2000, Stiles decided to study college at Columbia University, majoring in English and graduating in 2005. She temporarily left her Hollywood career on hold and moved into mainstream roles starting in 2002. She co-starred with Matt Damon in the 2002 film “The Bourne Identity” and its sequel. She also appeared in “Mona Lisa Smile” with Julia Roberts in 2003 and portrayed an eccentric actress in the film “Carolina” that landed her an award.

Aside from acting, Stiles is a talented writer, contributing regularly in the New York-based kids magazine ZuZu during her teen years. Some of her works are published by the Restless Youth Press. At age 16, Stiles also co-authored a play entitled, “The Anarchist’s Daughter”.

Julia Stiles used to date actors Joseph Gordon Levitt (in 1999) and Joshua Jackson (around 2000).

Stiles worked for Habitat for Humanity, which helped in building houses in Costa Rica, and worked with non-profit organizations like Amnesty International and Amend.org. She used to be a practicing vegan, but decided to give up veganism because it wasn’t healthy eating when traveling frequently.