Julia Stiles Biography: Age, Husband, Children, Movies, and Dancing with the Stars

Julia Stiles Biography

Julia Stiles is an American actress, director, writer, and producer best known for films such as 10 Things I Hate About You, Save the Last Dance, and the Bourne franchise. Born on March 28, 1981, in New York City, she is 45 years old as of October 23, 2026. She is married to camera assistant Preston Cook, and they have three children.

Stiles is currently competing on Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Ezra Sosa. Her October 20 performance generated fresh interest in her career when she dedicated a contemporary routine to her late 10 Things I Hate About You co-star Heath Ledger. The routine ended with several of their former castmates joining her on the ballroom floor.

Her latest television appearance has brought renewed attention to a career spanning independent films, studio productions, television dramas, theatre, and directing.

Who Is Julia Stiles?

Julia Stiles is an American performer whose career developed from early theatre work into leading roles in films and television. She gained recognition during the late 1990s and early 2000s, when she became associated with a series of popular teen and coming-of-age films. She later expanded into action films, dramatic television, independent cinema, and work behind the camera.

Her best-known early films include 10 Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance. She also became a recurring presence in the Bourne franchise, playing Nicky Parsons, and earned award nominations for her television performance in Dexter. These roles helped her build a career beyond the teen-film genre with which she first became widely associated.

Stiles has continued working as an actress while taking on directing, writing, and producing projects. In 2025, she made her feature directorial debut with Wish You Were Here, an adaptation of Renee Carlino’s novel.

Age, Birthday, and Education

Julia Stiles was born on March 28, 1981, in New York City. She is 45 as of October 2026. Her official biography lists New York, New York, as her hometown and confirms that she graduated from Columbia University.

She began performing in theatre at a young age and developed her acting career while growing up in New York. Her theatre background provided an early foundation for work that would later include film, television, and stage productions.

Stiles attended Columbia University and graduated from the institution.

Breakthrough With 10 Things I Hate About You

Julia Stiles became widely recognised after playing Kat Stratford in the 1999 teen romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. The film, a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, paired her with Heath Ledger, who played Patrick Verona. Its combination of humour, teenage romance, and memorable performances helped it develop a lasting following.

The film became one of the defining titles of Stiles’ early career. Ledger’s serenade of Kat to Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” remains one of its most recognisable scenes, and that sequence later became the central reference point for Stiles’ October 2026 tribute on Dancing with the Stars.

Stiles’ performance helped establish her as a leading presence in youth-oriented films at the turn of the millennium. The role also connected her to an ensemble cast whose members continued working across film and television, making the film’s later reunions meaningful to audiences who grew up with it.

Save the Last Dance and the Bourne Films

In 2001, Stiles starred in Save the Last Dance as Sara Johnson, a young dancer who moves to Chicago and works to pursue her ambitions after a family tragedy. The film combined a coming-of-age story with dance and romance, becoming another prominent entry in her early filmography. It remains a key title in discussions of her career.

Stiles also became known for her work in the Bourne franchise. She played Nicky Parsons, a character connected to Jason Bourne’s past and intelligence operations. She appeared in multiple instalments, including The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Jason Bourne. The franchise gave her a different kind of role from the teen dramas that first made her widely recognisable.

Other film credits include Mona Lisa Smile, O, The Prince & Me, Silver Linings Playbook, and Hustlers. Her filmography includes studio releases as well as independent projects, reflecting a career that has not been confined to one genre.

Television Career and Award Recognition

Stiles has also built a substantial television career. One of her notable roles was Lumen Pierce in the fifth season of Dexter. Her performance earned nominations for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe, bringing recognition beyond her work in film.

Her later television work includes Blue, Riviera, and the comedy-drama series The Lake. These projects allowed her to explore different character types and formats while continuing to work in feature films. She also appeared in Orphan: First Kill and The God Committee, among other recent screen credits.

Stiles has also worked in theatre, including productions of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Oleanna. Her stage work reflects the theatre experience she developed early in her career and her continued interest in performance beyond screen roles.

Directing, Writing, and Producing

Julia Stiles has expanded her professional work beyond acting. She created, wrote, and directed the digital series Paloma and directed the short film Raving, which starred Zooey Deschanel. These projects marked further steps into creative roles behind the camera.

Her feature directorial debut, Wish You Were Here, was released in January 2025. The film is an adaptation of Renee Carlino’s bestselling novel and represents a major development in Stiles’ career as a filmmaker.

Her official biography also lists Recap, a limited psychological thriller series, among her recent work, and identifies the holiday road-trip comedy Unbearable Christmas as a project scheduled for release later in 2026. These credits show that she continues to work across acting and production rather than relying solely on her earlier film roles.

Julia Stiles Husband and Children

Stiles is married to Preston Cook, a camera assistant whom she met while working on the film Blackway. They married in 2017 and have three children. The couple generally keeps their family life private, so details about their children have not been made public.

Cook’s work in the film industry has intersected with Stiles’ career on several projects. Their relationship developed while they were working in the same professional environment, and he has supported her current appearance on Dancing with the Stars.

Julia Stiles on Dancing with the Stars Season 35

Stiles joined Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars in 2026, partnering with professional dancer Ezra Sosa. The season premiered on September 15 and 16, with new episodes subsequently airing on Tuesdays. Stiles’ participation gives the competition a performer with a long history in dance-centred films, particularly Save the Last Dance.

Before her Heath Ledger tribute, Stiles had already drawn attention with a performance inspired by Save the Last Dance. Her October 20 routine revisited another defining moment from her earlier film career, connecting the current competition to the work that first brought her a broad audience.

As of October 26, Stiles remains in the competition. The October 20 Dedication Night episode did not eliminate a couple, leaving the remaining contestants to continue into the next round. The next scheduled episode is October 27.

The Heath Ledger Tribute and Cast Reunion

For Dedication Night, Julia Stiles and Sosa performed a contemporary routine to Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” The song is closely associated with the scene in 10 Things I Hate About You in which Ledger’s character serenades Kat Stratford. Stiles’ dance incorporated references to the film and concluded with a tribute to Ledger.

The performance ended with several of Stiles’ former co-stars joining her on stage: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, and Susan May Pratt. Their appearance turned the routine into a reunion of the original film’s cast, giving the moment significance for both longtime fans and viewers discovering the film through renewed attention.

Stiles later explained that she had asked Ledger’s former partner, Michelle Williams, for permission to dedicate the routine to him. According to Variety‘s October 23 report, Williams agreed.

Ledger died in 2008, aged 28.

What Is Next for Julia Stiles?

Stiles continues to balance acting with directing, writing, and producing. Her recent directorial work and her scheduled 2026 holiday film show that her career is still developing beyond the projects that established her as a star in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Her current appearance on Dancing with the Stars has also introduced her to viewers who may know her primarily through films such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance. The Heath Ledger tribute brought together her acting history and her present television work in a way that renewed attention to both.

Julia Stiles Quick Facts