Julia was born in Florianopolis but grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2001, she was in the theater production "Journey to the Center of the Earth" produced by Marcelo Serrado, which won the Shell Award (Premio Shell), comparable to the Tony Award in the U.S. She also worked as an actress and assistant director for acclaimed director Augusto Boal at CTO-Rio, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 2008. In recognition of her work, she was invited to represent the United Nations (UNESCO) as a resident artist in India working with a theater group in Chennai. She then received an acting scholarship from the University of Kansas, which prompted her move to the U.S. and allowed her to graduate with a B.A. in Theater & Film, and a B.S. in Journalism. She has worked as an actress, producer and writer in movies, TV shows and theater productions in the U.S. and Brazil.