Born March 28, 1981 in New York city, Julia Stiles began her career in acting at the tender age of eleven. With just a few YMCA courses under her belt, she wrote to La Mama Theater for an audition. She got the part in "Matthew: School of Life, " and "The Sandalwood Box." Since then she has been voted one of Teen People Magazine's "21 Hottest Stars Under 21" and continues to stick out from the young Hollywood crowd as a rare and beautiful talent.

Stiles' mother was a typical "60's child" and continues to work as a potter. Her father sells her mother's work. She has two siblings, both quite a bit younger (same parents). Whom she enjoys spending time with as they have yet to be "spoiled" by society. Stiles has taken over her mother's 60's style crusade for women's rights and environmentalism which her mother no longer has time for. Stiles has even been to Costa Rica for Habitat for Humanity (a volunteer program that helps needy communities build houses or rebuild after natural disasters).

Recently Stiles has worked in a number of Shakespeare plays. She has stared in "10 Things I Hate About You" (a reworking of "The Taming of the Shrew") played in "Hamlet" and "O" ("Othello"). She has been praised for her role as the doomed Ophelia. In her short career she has played opposite such names as Ethan Hawkes, Harrison Ford, and Brad Pitt.

Besides being an actress, Stiles is also known for her ability as a writer. While an up and coming actress, she was a regular contributor to ZuZu which was a New York based children's magazine that existed from 1992 to 1995. It was published by Restless Youth Press, Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing original work by young authors and artists. Her contributions included such articles as a reporting on the step-by-step process of making a music video with Cyndi Lauper, getting interviews with the kids from television series "Ghostwriter", and about her first hand experiences as a young performer. Most recently, at the age of sixteen, she co-authored a play "The Anarchist's Daughter".

Stiles shows promise as an up and coming actress. She is dubbed as having spunk and classical beauty working for her. Working against her may be her opinions regarding women's issues. She has come to the realization that Hollywood is only interested in telling male stories. Providing Stiles can get past the disillusionment such a finding creates, she should go far in acting.