Juliette L. Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress and singer. She gained fame for her role in Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake of the thriller Cape Fear for which she was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. This followed with major roles in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Natural Born Killers, Strange Days, The Evening Star, Kalifornia, From Dusk Till Dawn, and The Other Sister. Her work in television has resulted in two Emmy nominations.
Lewis launched a career as a singer and musician, leading the American rock band, Juliette and the Licks, until 2009 when she launched a solo career.
Early life
Lewis was born in Los Angeles, California, to Geoffrey Lewis, an actor, and Glenis (Duggan) Batley, a graphic designer. She has four siblings â€" brothers Lightfield (an actor who starred in The New WKRP in Cincinnati) and Peter; and sisters Deirdre and Brandy.
Career
Acting
Lewis appeared in The Wonder Years as Wayne's girlfriend in Episodes 24, 34 and 36. She also played Audrey Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Lewis first garnered international attention and acclaim in 1991 with her turn as Danielle Bowden in Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1991. Over the next few years, she appeared in Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives, Peter Medak's Romeo Is Bleeding, and opposite Brad Pitt in Kalifornia. In 1993, she acted alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp in the drama film What's Eating Gilbert Grape. She played Mallory Knox in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. She played a rock singer in the film Strange Days, doing her own singing on covers of two songs written by PJ Harvey, revealing her musical ability.
She received an Emmy nomination for her performance in Hysterical Blindness in 2003. She also appeared in the HIM music video for "Buried Alive By Love" in 2003.
Lewis appeared in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV, providing the voice of "Juliette", the host of fictional radio station "Radio Broker" (on which appears the Juliette and the Licks song 'Inside the Cage)'. She appeared in a GAP commercial in which she was dancing with Daft Punk to the tune of the song "Digital Love". She also appeared in the movie Renegade with Vincent Cassel, a Jan Kounen film. In 2012 she starred in the short-lived series The Firm, on NBC as Tammy, assistant to lead character Mitch McDeere (Josh Lucas).
Reprised her role as Audrey Griswold in 2012 in a series of Old Navy holiday commercials featuring the Griswold family.
Music
Lewis launched a career as a solo singer and musician, leading American rock band Juliette and the Licks until 2009 when she went solo and released the album entitled Terra Incognita.
Lewis features on the track "Bad Brother" by the band The Infidels, from The Crow: Salvation Soundtrack album, which was released on April 2000. Lewis has also appeared on three tracks by Electronic Music group The Prodigy's 2004 CD Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned ("Spitfire", "Get Up Get Off", and "Hot Ride"). In 2006, Blender magazine included her in their hottest women of rock music list.
In 2009, Lewis performed at the Przystanek Woodstock in Poland. In 2010, she played at the Rock for People festival in the Czech Republic. In December 2010, Lewis hosted the game television show Never Mind the Buzzcocks and repeated in January 2012.
In 2013, Lewis contributed backing vocals to the track, "Saint of Impossible Causes", on Joseph Arthur's tenth studio album, The Ballad of Boogie Christ. She then appeared in the music video for "City of Angels" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Lewis has also shown support for Little Kids Rock, a national nonprofit that works to restore and revitalize music education in disadvantaged U.S. public schools, by painting a Fender Strat guitar and donating it to an auction to raise money for the organization.
Personal life
Dropping out of high school, she got into trouble with the law for driving illegally at age 15, then was arrested for illegally patronizing a nightclub when she was 16. From 1990 to 1993 Lewis dated Brad Pitt, who is ten years older. While in her 20s she went into rehabilitation for drug addiction. Lewis married professional skateboarder Steve Berra in 1999; they divorced in 2003.
Lewis is a member of the Church of Scientology.
In October 2010, she was the victim of a hit-and-run car accident in which an unknown driver T-boned the Lincoln Town Car in which she was traveling.
Discography
- …Like a Bolt of Lightning (2004)
- You're Speaking My Language (2005)
- Four on the Floor (2006)
- Terra Incognita (2009)
Filmography
