Julia Stiles

Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981 in New York City) is an American stage and screen actress. After beginning her theater career in small parts, she has moved on to leading roles in plays by writers as diverse as William Shakespeare and David Mamet; her film career has been both a commercial and critical success, ranging from teen romantic comedies such as 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) to dark art house pictures such as The Business of Strangers (2001). When Stiles isn't working, she actively supports a variety of progressive and liberal issues.

Personal

Julia Stiles was born the eldest of the three children (two daughters and a son) of John O'Hara, a teacher and businessman of Irish descent, and Judith Stiles, a potter of English and Italian ancestry. She attended Friends Seminary,Quaker school in Manhattan, and was an English major at Columbia University in New York City, though she had several times interrupted her studies to pursue her film career. She graduated in May 2005, five years after entering college. Stiles is a Democrat who supported John Kerry's candidacy for President of the United States http://www.juliastiles.net/news.html#, and her official site, which her mother helps to maintain, provides a link to Moveon.org.

Related Topics:
Irish - Potter - English - Italian - Quaker - Manhattan - English - Columbia University - Democrat - John Kerry - President of the United States - Moveon.org

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Stiles has also worked for Habitat for Humanity, building housing in Costa Rica http://www.habitat.org/newsroom/2000archive/1insitedoc004229.htm, and has worked with Amnesty International to try and raise awareness of the harsh conditions of immigration detention of unaccompanied juveniles; Marie Claire magazine, in January 2004, featured Stiles' trip to see conditions at the Berks County Youth Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania http://www.amnestyusa.org/artistsforamnesty/feb2004.html http://www.amnestyusa.org/artistsforamnesty/july2004.html. Additionally, Stiles serves on the Board of Directors of Amend.org http://www.amend.org, a New York-based nonprofit that implements childhood injury prevention programs in Africa.

Related Topics:
Habitat for Humanity - Costa Rica - Amnesty International - Marie Claire - 2004 - Berks County - Leesport, Pennsylvania - Amend.org

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Stiles is also an ex-vegan. When interviewed by Conan O'Brien, she said the word "orgasm" came to mind when she had her first cheeseburger after giving up veganism.

Related Topics:
Vegan - Conan O'Brien

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The actress has described herself as a feminist and wrote on the subject in The Guardian http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1240843,00.html:

Related Topics:
Feminist - The Guardian

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:Ironically, the F word is now pejorative in the mainstream because it is seen to represent a woman's renunciation of her femininity. It's an issue many women struggle with today — including female studio executives. After Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, women of my generation have not employed self-censorship, but rather we challenge the notion that being a feminist is in opposition to being feminine.

Related Topics:
Studio - Betty Friedan - Gloria Steinem

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