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Julia Stiles

Called "one of the most fearless and talented actresses in Hollywood" by the Los Angeles Times, Julia Stiles has exhibited a rare sophistication in the characters she plays.

Stiles earned critical praise starring in Patrick Stettner's independent feature, The Business of Strangers, opposite Stockard Channing. The film premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. Additional film credits include the Paramount/MTV mega-hit Save the Last Dance, for which she was nominated for two MTV Movie Awards, and David Mamet's State and Main, with William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Sarah Jessica Parker. That film won a 2000 National Board of Review Award for Best Ensemble Cast. Stiles also made a lasting impression with her riveting performance in Michael Steinberg's critically acclaimed drama Wicked, which premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and the Prague Film Festival.

Other films include Alan J. Pakula's The Devil's Own, with Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt; I Love You, I Love You Not, with Claire Danes; M. Night Shyamalan's Wide Awake, with Rosie O'Donnell; MGM's romantic comedy A Guy Thing, opposite Jason Lee; Mike Newell's Mona Lisa Smile, opposite Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst and Maggie Gyllenhaal; Martha Coolidge's The Prince & Me; and Stuart Gordon's adaptation of the David Mamet play Edmond, opposite William H. Macy. Stiles was last seen in Baltasar Kormákur's A Little Trip to Heaven, opposite Forest Whitaker, and John Moore's The Omen, a remake of the 1976 horror classic, opposite Liev Schreiber.

Stiles' Shakespeare-inspired film credits include Tim Blake Nelson's O,a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy Othello; Michael Almereyda's Hamlet, opposite Ethan Hawke for Miramax; and Disney's acclaimed comedy hit 10 Things I Hate About You, for which she earned an MTV Movie Award in June 2000 for Best Female Breakthrough Performance and the Chicago Film Critics Award for Most Promising Actress.

Stiles will next star in the adaptation of Sylvia Plath's autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. She is also set to produce the feature with Plum Pictures, in association with Killer Films. The 1950s-era drama centers on young book editor Esther Greenwood (Stiles), who grows troubled by the social trappings of her time and slowly descends into mental illness. Principal photography is tentatively expected to begin in early 2008.

Stiles now wears the hat of writer/director with her short film Raving, which she wrote for Elle magazine's film series. Raving is a short film, which explores the emotional connection between a bright, rebellious young woman (Zooey Deschanel) and a lonely, disassociated older man (Bill Irwin) after a chance encounter on a New York street corner. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and on the Sundance Channel on May 8, 2007.

On television, Stiles starred in the ambitious NBC miniseries The '60s, with Jerry O'Connell and Josh Hamilton. Stiles also starred, opposite Ellen Barkin and Oprah Winfrey, in the ABC/Harpo Films special presentation Before Women Had Wings. Additionally, her performance as a young unwed mother, opposite Isabella Rossellini, in an episode of the CBS drama Chicago Hope garnered critical praise.

Stiles began her career on the New York stage, appearing in a number of plays at the Los Angeles Mama Theatre and the Kitchen Theatre, including Everyday Newt Burman and Matthew: School of Life. Stiles also starred in Mac Welmann's The Sandalwood Box. Most recently, she shared the stage with Gloria Reuben and Mary Testa in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues in New York. In summer 2002, Stiles appeared as Viola in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Twelfth Night in Central Park. The cast also included Kristen Johnston, Christopher Lloyd and Jimmy Smits. Stiles most recently starred onstage, opposite Mia Farrow, in the Playwrights Horizons Main Stage production of Fran's Bed, written and directed by James Lapine. She made her West End debut in a revival of David Mamet's Oleanna, opposite Aaron Eckhart. The play opened at the Garrick Theatre to rave reviews.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2007.
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Julia Stiles Facts

Birth NameJulia O'Hara Stiles
OccupationActress
BirthdayMarch 28, 1981 (42)
SignAries
BirthplaceNew York, New York, USA
Height5' 8" (1m73)  How tall is Julia Stiles compared to you?
Awards2001 MTV Movie Awards: Best Kiss (for Save the Last Dance)
2000 MTV Movie Awards: Breakthrough Female Performance (for 10 Things I Hate About You)

Selected Filmography

Jason Bourne
Blackway
Closed Circuit
Silver Linings Playbook
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
Misconduct
Save The Last Dance
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