Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith in Fort Brag, Fayetteville, N.C. on December 30th, 1960. Her mother was a psychiatric social worker and her father a military judge. Needless to say being an army brat Julianne moved almost constantly, almost 23 times before she settled. It was at the Boston University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

From there she headed off to New York, where she appeared in a number of late-'80's off-Broadway plays. She then branched out into television with a short-term part on the soap opera "The Edge of Night" which lead to a 3 year stint on "As The World Turns," for which she earned a daytime Emmy.

Following a few made for T.V. movies, Julianne made her first leap to the big screen with 1990's "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie." She kept winning better and more powerful roles as time went on, including a small but memorable role as Harrison Ford's colleague in "The Fugitive." In fact her small role made such an impression on Steven Spielberg that he cast her in the "Jurassic Park" sequel "The Lost World" without an audition.

Another director, Paul Thomas Anderson, had Moore in mind when he wrote the role of drug-addicted porn star Amber Waves in "Boogie Nights." The actress took the news with a bit of apprehension saying "It really scared me. The last thing you want to do is read a script about pornography from a 26-year-old you've never met." Despite her misgivings about the role, Moore read the script and was won over. The decision proved a wise one and she received an Oscar nomination for her astounding performance.

Moore Started 1998 by playing a sinister seductress in the Coen Brothers' mistaken-identity farce "The Big Lebowski," and ended with a subtle performance in Gus Van Sant's remake of "Psycho."

1999 had Moore as buisy as an actress can be. She began the year with stellar performances in "Cookies Fortune," and "An Ideal Husband." And continued with an outstanding performance in "The End of the Affair," for which she garnered an Oscar nomination. She then teamed with Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly for "Magnolia."

Not bad for an Army brat who recalls, "In grade school, I was a complete geek. You know, there's always the kid who's too short, the kid who wears glasses, the kid who's not athletic. Well, I was all three."