Julia was born and raised in the Midwest before living in East Africa. Then it was onto New York City, where she worked as an actress on numerous New York-based television series. Now living in Austin, Texas, she continues to work as an actress, writer and director, recently appearing in a recurring role on the hit show "Nashville" as Heidi Bell. She is the writer/director/producer of her short film, "Chasing Grace", which premiered at SXSW in 2017. Her play, "Modern Missionary", inspired by her relief and development work in East Africa, won best play at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2006.