With a career beginning at age 11, she has appeared on stage, television, and film. She has demonstrated versatility and consistency, and there is every indication that her future in film is solid.
Early Life of Julia Stiles
At age nine her parents sent her to summer classes at the YMCA. At home she would imitate TV characters. Stiles began performing with the Ridge Theatre in New York in 1992. The La MaMa Theatre Company was next. Her mother's ancestry is half Italian and half English, while her father is Irish. She appeared opposite Oprah Winfrey and Ellen Burstyn in Before Women Had Wings in 1997.
Julia Stiles and Shakespeare
Ms. Stiles demonstrated her ability to carry a lead role as Kat Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You, in 1999. The movie was a successful adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew set in a high school outside Tacoma, Washington. She won the "Breakthrough Female Performance" MTV Movie Award for her work in that role. In 2000 she was Ophelia in Michael Almerayda's adaptation of Hamlet. After that she was Desdemona in Tim Blake Nelson's O, a boarding school version of Othello. She also appeared as Viola, opposite Jimmy Smits, in Shakespeare in the Park's Twelfth Night.
Stiles Dances Toward an Ultimatum
In 2001, Julia Stiles starred in Save the Last Dance. Her character used creative dance to gain admission to The Julilliard School. She won two more MTV awards. When interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine, she made it clear that she did her own dancing for the performance. In 2002, Stiles had a small introductory part in The Bourne Identity as Nicolette "Nicky" Parsons. She appeared again as Parsons in The Bourne Supremecy in 2004. In 2007, her role as Parsons was expanded in the third of the series: The Bourne Ultimatum. In this sequel her character had a more active role in conjunction with Jason Bourne, played by Matt Damon.
Julia Stiles' Interests and Humanitarian Work
Ms. Stiles has been active in giving to others. She has assisted with housing in Costa Rica on behalf of Habitat for Humanity. She served with Amnesty International, and has been on the board of directors of Amend.org, a New York-based nonprofit. She enjoys baseball and is a New York Mets fan. On May 29, 2006, she threw out the first pitch. She graduated from the Professional Children's School in 1999, and Columbia University in 2005 with a major in English.
