Biography of Julia StilesJulia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American stage and screen actress.
After beginning her theatre career in small parts in a New York City theatre troupe, she has moved on to leading roles in plays by writers as diverse as William Shakespeare and David Mamet. Her film career has included both commercial and critical successes, ranging from teen romantic comedies such as 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) to dark art house pictures such as The Business of Strangers (2001). Stiles also actively supports a variety of progressive causes.
Stiles was born in New York City to John O'Hara, a teacher and businessman who owns and operates a pottery business, and Judith Stiles, a potter.[1] Her father is of Irish descent and her mother is of half Italian and half English ancestry. Stiles has two younger siblings, Jane and Johnny and a half sister Bridget O'Hara Koch, the first daugter of John O'Hara. She was raised in SoHo by liberal, lapsed Catholic parents. She started acting at age eleven, performing with New York's La MaMa Theatre Company and securing work by submitting photographs of herself in costume to the company and asking that she be kept in mind for juvenile roles.
Stiles attended Friends Seminary, a Quaker prep school in Manhattan, and graduated from the Professional Children's School in New York in 1999. She then was an English major at Columbia University, though she had several times interrupted her studies to pursue her career. During her first year (2000-2001), Stiles caused a minor uproar on campus when she mocked cafeteria workers in Columbia's dining halls while appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Stiles later apologized for her comments in the campus newspaper, the Columbia Daily Spectator. She graduated in May 2005, five years after entering.
Stiles is a Democrat and supported John Kerry's candidacy for President of the United States. Her official site, which her mother helps to maintain, provides a link to Moveon.org.
Stiles has also worked for Habitat for Humanity, building housing in Costa Rica, and has worked with Amnesty International to try to raise awareness of the harsh conditions of immigration detention of unaccompanied juveniles; Marie Claire magazine, in January 2004, featured Stiles' trip to see conditions at the Berks County Youth Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania. Additionally, Stiles serves on the Board of Directors of Amend.org, a New York-based nonprofit that implements childhood injury prevention programs in Africa.
Stiles is also an ex-vegan. When interviewed by Conan O'Brien, she said the word "orgasm" came to mind when she had her first cheeseburger after giving up veganism - although she has said in an interview for tiscali that this was a joke. She gave up being vegan because it wasn't healthy whilst travelling. The actress has described herself as a feminist and wrote on the subject in The Guardian. Stiles told Gotham Magazine in 2005 that "I'd never be in Playboy or anything close to that, not that anyone would ask" and in fact hates being photographed.
Stiles has dated actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt (in 1999) and Joshua Jackson (in 2000).
Stiles is also an avid baseball fan. Her favorite team is the New York Mets. She threw the ceremonial first pitch before their May 29, 2006 game.
On August 17th 2007, Julia joined Prince on stage at the O2 in London. Prince then handed her a mic and got her to sing Wild Cherry's Play That Funky Music in front of a 20,000 strong crowd.
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