Born:
September 09, 1968
in
London
Best Known For:
Playing Saffy in Absolutely Fabulous.
Early-life:
Born in 1969 in London, the daughter of Roberta and Nadim Sawalha. She was named after her grandmother, a Jordanian businesswoman. She is of Jordanian, British, and French Huguenot ancestry. She was born into an acting family: her father Nadim is a well-known stage and screen actor and sister Nadia a presenter and actress. Julia became interested in acting at a young age, and landed her first break when she was chosen to star on the children's TV series Press Gang.
Career:
She moved into comedy with a starring role in Absolutely Fabulous in 1992, and followed up this near-iconic role with parts in Martin Chuzzlewit, Kenneth Branagh's movie In the Bleak Midwinter and Lydia Bennet in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. In 2000, she had the major vocal role in Nick Park's animated caper Chicken Run, and she landed another significant part when she became the female lead in Jonathan Creek. Since then, she has favoured classic roles, winning rave reviews in Cranford and Lark Rise to Candleford.
Quote:
On her sister: "We have such respect for each other. If I ring her up in tears, she will give me the toughest advice, then she'll have me laughing in seconds."
Trivia:
She voiced a main character in the video game Fable II.