- Julia Stiles' career didn't take off as expected after the success of "10 Things I Hate About You," and she took a break from major films to start a family.
- Stiles found success in TV shows like "Riviera" and scored a role in the film "Hustlers" alongside Jennifer Lopez.
- While Stiles may not be a mainstream actress anymore, she is focused on the second phase of her career and aims to sustain the interest of her loyal fan base.
When it comes to mainstream Hollywood, actress Julia Stiles has lived in the shadow of 10 Things I Hate About You since its success in 1999.
The high school rom-com, which was loosely based on The Taming of the Shrew, rocketed Stiles, Heath Ledger and even Joseph Gordon-Levitt to stardom. Ledger went on to film Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight, his last film before his untimely passing in 2008. Stiles, on the other hand, went on to have a much more low-key career.
Back in 2000, when Julia Stiles became a household name, fans expected her career to take off. She appeared in three projects in 2000 and four more in 2001, including a stint hosting Saturday Night Live. However, Stiles’ work never garnered as much attention as Ledger’s. Did Stiles take a break from major films, or did mainstream Hollywood simply lose interest?
Related: Did Julia Stiles And Heath Ledger Ever Date?
Updated in October 2023: Julia Stiles might not be Hollywood's "it girl" anymore, but that's not to say she hasn't had a steady career over the years. In 2023 alone, she reprised her roles on Dragons: The Nine Realms and The Lake. Also in 2023, she was invited to sit in the front row of Christian Siriano's A/W 2023 show at New York Fashion Week.
Why Did Julia Stiles Take Some Time Off?
Julia Stiles was once upon a time the "it" actress, however, after a series of flop films and a move to Broadway, Julia didn't seem to be popping up in as many mainstream films as she once did. Despite her efforts to regain status in Hollywood, Stiles was no longer favored by directors and took some time off from acting to start a family. After welcoming her first child, Strummer Cook, Julia was cast as the lead on the hit show, Riviera. It didn't take much time before Julia was back into the swing of things, landing role in Jennifer Lopez' Hustlers and The God Committee.
In early 2022, Julia Stiles announced the birth of her second child, Arlo. She first revealed she was pregnant just a couple of months earlier, when she walked the red carpet at the premiere of her film Humans. While it's safe to presume that Stiles will be taking some time off from acting to recover from giving birth and to spend time with her family, she won't be gone for too long. As she'd told People after the birth of her first child, "Having my attention focused on my son has made me a better actress because I don't come home every night dwelling on every little scene."
What Happened To Julia Stiles?
Soon after 10 Things I Hate About You, Stiles appeared in Down to You alongside Freddy Prinze Jr., Save the Last Dance with Sean Patrick Thomas and Kerry Washington, and A Guy Thing with Jason Lee.
Though Save the Last Dance was successful at the box office, Stiles’ other 2000s films did not perform well. Down to You was bashed for its “bland, by-the-numbers plot” and “awful script,” according to Rotten Tomatoes. A Guy Thing bombed at the box office, earning less than its production budget.
Stiles had more success with the Jason Bourne films, but her role as Nicky was not enough to bring her back into the Hollywood spotlight. As a result, Stiles continued to take on many non-mainstream projects from 2003 onward.
Related: Everything We Know About Julia Stiles' Dance Training And Career
This Is What Julia Stiles Is Doing Now
After appearing in Jason Bourne one last time in 2016, Stiles landed the role of Georgina Clios in Riviera, a British TV series that premiered on Sky Atlantic. The show became so successful that it premiered on the U.S. channel Ovation in 2019.
Though Riviera is not extremely well known in the U.S., many fans believe that the show would become popular if it were available on more streaming platforms. Still, it was named one of “the best TV drama series to watch in Autumn 2020” by iNews UK and certainly has a strong fan base in the UK.
Related: What Happened To Julia Stiles? The Star Has One Regret About Her Career
In 2019, Stiles also scored a role in Hustlers alongside Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, and Keke Palmer.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stiles asked director Lorene Scafaria for an opportunity in any capacity to be a part of the film. This resulted in an opportunity to play the journalist Elizabeth, something Stiles did not take for granted.
Julia Stiles Started A Family In 2017
In September 2017, Stiles married her long-time fiancé Preston Cook, a camera operator known for his work on Deadpool and War for the Planet of the Apes. Cook and Stiles reportedly met on the set of Blackway, a 2015 thriller starring Stiles, Anthony Hopkins, Alexander Ludwig, and Ray Liotta.
Stiles then gave birth to her son, Strummer Newcomb, in October 2017. Stiles and her husband were overjoyed to welcome their newborn, and Stiles thanked the staff at Mount Sinai (in New York City) on Instagram beneath a photo of her baby’s hand.
With a new chapter in her life just beginning, Stiles took a short break from her career to focus on her family. However, the actress still appeared in a couple of non-mainstream projects in 2017, including Trouble, an independent dramedy that received a 30 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and Riviera.
The Second Phase Of Julia Stiles' Career
In an interview with The New York Times in 2010, Stiles revealed that she may never again be a mainstream actress. However, she was excited to embark on what she called the “second phase” of her career.
“I think audiences, producers, and directors included, develop crushes on actors (actresses in particular) and then lose interest and move on to the next one,” she explained in an email. “There are a handful of actors who sustain interest because it’s exciting to watch them get better at what they do. I want to be one of those actors.”
Will Stiles be able to sustain the interest of her fan base? Though her follower count on Instagram is nothing huge compared to some other actresses who gained fame in the 90s, Stiles' fans are fiercely loyal.
As Julia gets back into the swing of things when it comes to her acting career, she starred in The God Committee in 2021, in which she played the role of Dr. Jordan Taylor.
Today, Julia Stiles has a net worth valued at $12 million.
Sources: CelebrityNetWorth, RottenTomatoes, nytimes, People
