Juliette Lewis was born 21st June 1973 in Los Angeles, California. Her father is an actor, Geoffrey Lewis, and mother, Glenis Batley, is a graphic designer. Her family includes seven siblings and half siblings from her mother's three marriages and her father's four, including fellow actors Lightfield and Dierdre Lewis. Juliette, a natural born performer, knew she wanted to be an actress by the age of six and found inspiration in musicals like Fame (1980) and Grease (1978). Juliette landed her first leading role in the Showtime miniseries Home Fires (1987). She appeared in sitcoms such as The Wonder Years and I Married Dora during the mid-80s until landing major roles in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) and (1991).

Despite her raising stardom, Juliette's teenage years were rather stormy. She legally emancipated from her parents at age 14 and was arrested for being underage in an underground dance club at age 16 (the mugshot taken now hangs, poster-size, in her home). She dropped out of high school just three weeks after starting and experimented with drugs and drinking. "Just to buck the system in California, I bought a Mazda for $6,000 when I was 15 without even bothering to get a license," says the rebellious actress. Shortly Juliette moved to Hollywood with her friend and fellow actress Karen Black, both seeking for work and independence.

At the age of 16, Lewis starred in the critically acclaimed TV production Too Young to Die? (1990), a story based on the true story of Amanda Sue Bradley, a sexually abused runaway who was the first minor to receive the death sentence. On the set of the film Juliette met her boyfriend of several years to come, Brad Pitt, who was still an unknown actor. Lewis' powerful screen presence also caught the attention of director Martin Scorsese, who cast her in the thriller Cape Fear (1991). Her performance earned Juliette an Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

More mature roles followed shortly as Woody Allen cast her in Husbands and Wives (1992). In 1993, Lewis went on to star in Kalifornia with partner Pitt. She played a quirky teenager on a cross-country journey with her psycho-killer boyfriend. Juliette, now considered one of Hollywood's most promising and versatile talents worked with other rising stars and top notch directors such as Lasse Hallström's What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) along side Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio. Despite her young age, Juliette showed exceptional maturity and depth in her role. After her break up with Brad Pitt, Juliette was linked to several young actors of her age. Annoyed by all of the gossiping, she said: "Just 'cause I'm in the same age bracket as Johnny Depp and Leo Dicaprio doesn't mean we all screw together."

Juliette landed yet another successful role in 1994 alongside Woody Harrelson in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, a controversial media satire about two mass murderers who become legendary folk heroes. Juliette's performance as Mallory is still one of her most memorable ones and a fan favorite. She also appeared in ad campaigns for Gap and starred in music videos, such as her memorable performance as a suicidal mental patient in Melissa Etheridge's Come to my Window.

Compared to the stormy and extremely busy first half of the 90s, the later years were much calmer as Juliette took off some time from the spotlight to star in independent productions, such as From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), The Evening Star (1996), Some Girl (1998), The 4th Floor (1999) and The Other Sister (1999). On 9th September 1999, Juliette married professional skateboarder Steve Berra to whom she stayed married for several years to come. Still remaining close friends, Lewis and Berra announced separation in 2005.

While never really being gone from the public, Juliette made a successful come back to acting in 2001 with My Louisiana Sky. For the wonderful performance Lewis added an Emmy nomination nod to her already impressive resume. In 2002 she also appeared in Enough and Hysterical Blindness, a TV production for which Lewis received her second Emmy nomination. "I've never seen this female perspective told before with such a true voice," says Lewis of the film. "It's raw, heartbreakingly honest and real." Next Juliette stretched her abilities as a comedic actress in Old School (2003) and Starsky & Hutch (2004) and starred in Blueberry (2004) opposite Vincent Cassel.

The new millenium saw a new side of Juliette Lewis. Juliette, who has been writing music since teenagehood and appeared on three tracks of The Prodigy's 2004 album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned (Girls, Memphis Bells and Hot Ride), established her very own rock group in 2004, named Juliette and The Licks. "Anybody, in any language, can get off on rock and roll music. I love the idea of bringing everybody together through music, that music is this unifying force, a truly universal language," says Juliette. The Licks currently consists of Juliette herself on the vocals with guitarists Todd Morse and Kemble Walters and bassist Jason Womack. The band released their first EP "...Like A Bolt of Lightning" and album "You're Speaking My Language" in 2005 and have been touring all around the globe. Their next album will come out fall 2006.

Juliette Lewis remains one of Hollywood's most unique talents. She has acted in almost 50 films, which include some of America's most controversial and successful films. She has worked with some of the most acclaimed contemporary directors of the industry - Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Lasse Hallström, Oliver Stone, Garry Marshall, just to name a few. The multi-talented Lewis enjoys world wide fame as the front woman of a rock group. She currently recides in London, England, where she is rehearsing to star as May in the upcoming revival of Sam Shepard's Fool for Love which opens at the Apollo Theatre on 13th June.