Julianne Moore

Bio

Always an actress who takes wide ranging chances, Julianne Moore never disappoints. Julianne, born Julie Anne Smith on December 3, 1960, at Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville, North Carolina. Her childhood was the typical ‘army brat’ existence, living in around the U.S. and Germany, graduating in 1979 from Frankfurt American High School in Frankfurt, Germany. After receiving a Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree from Boston University, she moved to New York and landed the dual roles of Frannie and Sabrina Hughes on the soap opera As the World Turns. The soap job lasted from 1985 to 1988 and won the natural redhead a Daytime Emmy. Julianne took on supporting roles in The Fugitive and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, but her eye-popping bottomless scene in Robert Altman’s 1993 film Short Cuts established her as a no-holds-barred risk taker. In the late '90s, Julianne appeared in several high-profile Hollywood films, including 1995's romantic comedy Nine Months with Hugh Grant, and 1997's summer blockbuster The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Julianne’s working relationship with director Paul Thomas Anderson resulted in two of her most memorable performances, porn star 'Amber Waves' in Boogie Nights and the emotionally distraught wife of the terminally ill Jason Robards in the Altman-esque Magnolia. Boogie Nights earned Julianne the first of many Oscar nominations. Her other nominated performances were for The End of the Affair, Far From Heaven and The Hours. Julianne splits acting with motherhood; she and her director husband Bart Freundlich have two children: a son, Caleb Freundlich, and a daughter, Liv Helen Freundlich. With her ability and willingness to show audiences her soul—and sometimes more - Julianne remains one of Hollywood’s most versatile and in-demand mavericks.