Julia Fox
Julia Fox is an Italian-born actress, model, and creative personality known for her breakout in Uncut Gems and her bold, risk-taking public persona. Explore her life story, career path, influences, and memorable statements in this in-depth profile.
Introduction
Julia Francesca Fox is an intriguing figure in modern pop culture—a multitalented creator whose life seems as much performance as performance. Born in Milan to an Italian mother and an American father, Julia’s early years spanned two continents. She first made waves not in acting, but in fashion, art, and provocative public expression. Her debut film role in Uncut Gems (2019) catapulted her into wider recognition, and since then she’s layered that visibility with ventures in modeling, writing, and media. Her story is one of resilience, reinvention, and unapologetic self-expression.
Early Life and Family
Julia Fox was born on February 2, 1990 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.
At age six, Julia moved to New York City to live with her father, settling in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan.
Her adolescence was turbulent. At about age 14, she returned to Italy to live with a host family and attend a Catholic school, but was asked to leave due to behavioral issues (skipping school, smoking).
During her teenage years, Julia endured periods of instability and hardship, including run-ins with the law, addiction, and personal crises. borderline personality disorder, as well as later disclosing that she is on the autism spectrum, and has OCD and ADHD.
Julia attended City-As-School High School in New York but dropped out early.
Youth, Influences & Self-Formation
The dual cultural influences—Italy and New York—are central to understanding Julia’s aesthetic and worldview. She often remarks that neither place fully contained her, giving her both a sense of belonging and displacement.
Her early brushes with hardship (homeless phases, addiction, psychological struggles) shaped a fierce, self-reliant persona. Rather than retreat, she leaned into expression as survival: modeling, art, provocative fashion, and public confession. She has said that her past forces informed her voice today.
Julia also worked several odd jobs in her youth: in a shoe store, ice cream shop, bakery, and retail. dominatrix in her late teens, which she has described candidly in interviews and media. She has framed that period as part of her unconventional education in autonomy, power, and trauma.
Her artistic sensibility was evident early. She explored photography, painting, and experimental presentation of identity. Before her film breakthrough, she co-founded a knitwear brand called Franziska Fox (with Briana Andalore) and published photographic art books. “R.I.P. Julia Fox”, which included silk canvases painted with her own blood—an act of radical self-exposure.
Career and Achievements
Modeling, Fashion & Art
Julia’s first public fame came through modeling, fashion, and art rather than acting. She posed for editorial spreads in Vogue Italia, Interview, The Last, V, CR Fashion Book, and other avant-garde publications.
Her fashion brand, Franziska Fox, highlighted her ambition to merge commerce and personal aesthetic. Symptomatic of a Relationship Gone Sour: Heartburn/Nausea (2015) and PTSD (2016).
Julia’s presence—deliberately provocative, sometimes shocking, always expressive—helped her cultivate a distinct personal brand before becoming widely recognized as an actress.
Breakout to Acting
Julia’s first major film role came in Uncut Gems (2019), from directors Josh and Benny Safdie. She played Julia De Fiore, a showroom employee and romantic interest to Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler). Breakthrough Actor at the 2019 Gotham Awards.
After Uncut Gems, her acting resume expanded. She co-starred in PVT Chat (2021) as “Scarlet.” No Sudden Move, directed by Steven Soderbergh, as Vanessa Capelli. Presence (2024), The Trainer (2024), Him (2025), Idiotka (2025), Night Always Comes (2025), among others. executive producer.
She also ventured into short film creation. She wrote and directed Fantasy Girls, a short about teenage girls involved in sex work in Reno, Nevada. Something You Said Last Night.
Media, Writing & Other Ventures
In October 2023, Julia published her memoir, Down the Drain, offering raw recounting of her upbringing, struggles, and perspectives. Forbidden Fruits with Niki Takesh.
Her life and persona naturally lend themselves to public fascination. She frequently speaks about mental health, trauma, body image, addiction recovery, neurodiversity, and art.
Julia’s style identity continues to influence fashion and media: she is known for bold, theatrical outfits, daring silhouettes, color clash, and a willingness to challenge norms.
Historical & Cultural Context
Julia’s rise intersects with several modern cultural trends:
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Rise of personal branding & social media-driven celebrity: Her fame was helped by her performance-as-life approach, curated public image, and willingness to cross boundaries.
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Blurring between artist and celebrity: She embodies the hybrid of model, designer, actress, writer, influencer.
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Reckoning with mental health and trauma narratives: Her openness about addiction, psychiatric diagnoses, and survival reflects a growing cultural shift toward destigmatization.
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Nostalgia for ’80s/’90s aesthetics & postmodern art: Her style often references eras, mixing kitsch, maximalism, and retro influences.
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Cinematic shifts toward realism / character-driven indie films: Her breakout Uncut Gems is in the wave of gritty, character-first storytelling in American independent cinema.
Legacy and Influence
Julia Fox is still early in her career, but her influence is already visible in several areas:
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She has become a symbol of bold authenticity—someone who refuses to be neatly categorized or sanitized.
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Her transition from fashion/visual arts to film suggests a model for modern multidisciplinary creativity.
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Her openness about diagnosis and trauma is inspiring to audiences who see reflections of their own struggle in public figures.
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In fashion, her fearless risk-taking encourages experimental expression over safe normativity.
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The memoir and podcast help position her not just as performer, but as a storyteller and interpreter of her generation’s complexities.
Personality, Passions & Off-Screen Life
Julia Fox is characteristically candid, confrontational, and reflective. She often uses public platforms to explore vulnerability, challenging norms about beauty, gender, performance, and trauma.
In her personal life, she was married to Peter Artemiev (married 2018, divorced 2021). They share one son, Valentino (born 2021). lesbian, and later described her sexual orientation more fluidly (pansexual) in an August 2025 interview.
Julia also regrets having had cosmetic surgeries in the past—Botox, veneers, liposuction, rhinoplasty—saying they sprang from pressures to appear attractive to men. She now emphasizes aging naturally and transparency about beauty standards.
Though born in Italy, she primarily identifies as a New Yorker—she often says, “I became a New Yorker” rather than “I was one,” indicating her identity formed through struggle and adaptation rather than inheritance.
She is deeply interested in art—painting, photography, installation—and she often treats her life itself as a medium.
Famous Quotes of Julia Fox
Here are some representative quotations from Julia Fox that reveal parts of her creative and personal outlook:
“Sometimes the worst thing that’s ever happened to you becomes the foundation for the best things.”
“I don’t do ‘normal.’ Normal is dead.”
“I want to celebrate imperfection. I want to show what real edges look like.”
“My trauma is not a character trait. It’s a thing I survived.”
“I made myself the villain so I could control the narrative.”
These reflect her themes of reclamation, defiance, and turning adversity into agency.
Lessons from Julia Fox
From Julia’s life and work, several lessons emerge:
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Your past is not your limit, but part of your palette.
She uses her history of pain, addiction, instability, and identity conflict as material, not anchor. -
Be the author of your own narrative.
Her willingness to expose her struggles, flaws, and transformations resists sanitization. -
Cross disciplinary boundaries.
Modeling, design, writing, film—Julia shows that creative identity need not remain compartmentalized. -
Vulnerability can be strength.
By openly speaking about mental health and trauma, she diminishes shame and invites empathy. -
Aesthetic bravery matters.
Her style is not neutral; it confronts, challenges, and signals that image is a form of language. -
Transformation is ongoing.
Julia is not finished with her evolution—she continues to pivot, experiment, and refuse stasis.
Conclusion
Julia Fox’s journey—from Milan to Manhattan, from fashion provocateur to film actress—charts a path of audacity, reinvention, and self-possession. She doesn’t just perform roles—she constructs them, contests them, and sometimes dismantles them in public. In an era when celebrity and authenticity often feel at odds, Julia’s voice insists that the two can coexist—and that sometimes the sharpest art emerges from the edges.