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Juliette Lewis Profile |
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Birth Date: June 21, 1973
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Birth Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
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Birth Name: Juliette Lewis
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Height: 5'6"
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Biography |
The unique and rocky life of Juliette Lewis began on June
21st, 1973 in Hollywood, California. Her father, Geoffrey
Lewis, a seasoned character actor and her mother, Glenis
Batley, a graphic designer, noticed Juliette's affinity for
acting when, at 6 years old, she became obsessed with
musicals like Fame and Grease.
With her parents' encouragement, Lewis got her first big
role in 1987, on the Showtime miniseries Home Fires. She
gained more experience on the television series I Married
Dora and The Wonder Years by the time she landed her film
debut in the sci-fi comedy, Meet the Hollowheads.
During the late 1980s, Lewis first showed signs of the
rebelliousness that she is now known for. After realizing
that becoming an actor was her biggest passion in life, she
sought work as much as possible. However, child labor laws
dictated that teens could only put in a maximum of five
hours of work per week.
In order to get around this, Lewis, at 14, went through the
court system and became legally emancipated from her
parents, meaning she was independent in the eyes of the law.
At 15, she dropped out of high school after only three weeks
(she did earn her equivalency exam with a tutor's help) and
moved to Hollywood.
Amazingly, she bought a car and drove without a license
until she was 21 years old.
The streak of rebellion continued one year later when she
was arrested for being underage in a nightclub. Fortunately,
due to a connection of her father's, all charges were
dropped. With this type of behavior serving as fuel for her
acting, Lewis received one of her most famous parts to date:
Danielle Bowden in the modern version of Cape Fear.
The 1991 film, which also featured Nick Nolte and Robert De
Niro, was a big hit, thanks in large part to a chilling
scene involving the young starlet and De Niro. In
recognition of her great acting effort, she received a Best
Supporting Actress Oscar nomination in 1992.
With this role and a budding relationship with Brad Pitt
(they met on the set of the TV movie Too Young To Die?)
reaching the tabloids, Lewis was quickly viewed as one of
Hollywood's brightest new stars.
She impressed critics by appearing in Husbands and Wives (a
Woody Allen film), Kalifornia (co-starring Pitt), Romeo Is
Bleeding, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape in the two years
that followed.
Although Juliette was proving to be a workaholic, her life
off the set was less stable. When her and Pitt broke up in
February 1993, Lewis began resorting to drugs to escape what
had become a busy but rough life. She tried to work through
the pain, however, and gave it her all in Oliver Stone's
twisted Natural Born Killers in 1994.
Excellent roles in The Basketball Diaries, Strange Days and
From Dusk Till Dawn distracted the media from her
increasingly serious drug addiction.
Finally, in December 1996, Lewis dealt with her drug problem
head-on and committed herself to a drug rehabilitation
clinic.
Almost two years went by before she took up acting again,
this time in the 1998 comedy Some Girl. By 2000, Lewis was
back in full force, having appeared in The Way of the Gun
and The Other Sister, a tough role in which she played an
independent-minded yet mentally-challenged woman.
After the Showtime feature My Louisiana Sky (for which she
received a Daytime Emmy nomination), Juliette appeared in
the HBO film Hysterical Blindness and the films Enough
(2002), Old School (2003) and Cold Creek Manor (2003).
With a stable career on her hands, it's clear that Lewis has
fully rebounded from any past missteps. She is famous for
being able to tackle both dark characters and comedic ones,
and is set to show off these talents once again in Aurora
Borealis and Starsky & Hutch, both in 2004.
Interestingly enough, Lewis has also turned to music,
recording songs in a punk-rock style and looking to record
an album in the near future. You can also call her an
executive producer as well, since she funded The Drummer in
2004, starring Alison Eastwood. Clearly, Juliette Lewis is
poised to duplicate the string of successes in the mid-'90s
that made her name famous.
On a personal note, Juliette and her husband of nearly four
years, professional skateboarder Steve Berra, filed for
divorce in April 2003. |
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Other
Information |
Sister of actors Lightfield Lewis and Dierdre Lewis
Legally emancipated from her parents at age 14.
Dropped out of high school just three weeks after starting.
Arrested for being underage in an underground dance club at
age 16. The arresting officer, who recognized her dad when
he picked her up at the station, gave Juliette her mug shot
(the charges were dropped), which now hangs, poster-size, in
her home (this picture can be seen at Fan Page)
Drove without driver's license until she was 21. She owned a
car bought under a friend's name and had been driving
illegally since age 15. Eventually got a license after she
got caught not stopping at a stop sign.
Father almost named her Snow Lake.
Daughter of Geoffrey Lewis.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in
film history (#75). [1995]
Played a suicidal mental patient in the music video for the
Melissa Etheridge song "Come to my Window." Lewis' erratic
behavior frightened the director to the point where he
yelled "Cut!" several unnecessary times for fear that Lewis
had truly suffered a mental/emotional breakdown.
Her song from Natural Born Killers (1994) was used in
another song, "Bad Brother" by The Infidels.
Auditioned for the role played by Winona Ryder in Beetle
Juice (1988).
Fronts a rock band called "Juliette and the Licks" which is
touring on Van's Warped Tour in 2004.
Wears a size 7 1/2 shoe.
Posed for a portrait in US Magazine, by Peggy Sirota, which
featured nothing but an extreme close-up of the soles of her
bare feet.
Although she is now divorced, she remains good friends with
her ex-husband, Stephen Berra.
She was introduced to her future husband Stephen Berra by
her younger sister Brandy.
Ranked #7 on Tropopkin's Top 25 Most Intriguing People
[Issue #100] |
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