Julie Simone

Julie Simone, an Actress, Director, and Writer, is a multi-award-winning filmmaker who directed and co-wrote the 2019 music documentary "Fiddlin'." Winner of 17 Awards on the national and international Film Festival circuits, Fiddlin' made the 2019 Academy Qualifying Consideration List for Best Documentary Feature and was released theatrically in New York and Los Angeles. (Amazon Prime, ITunes, Apple TV, Documentary Plus, Curiosity Stream) Julie, whose career had previously primarily been that of an actress, was also nominated as Best Director at the Madrid International Film Festival for the celebrated documentary. Julie grew up on a farm in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia where childhood summers were spent fishing, swimming and riding bikes on country roads. Julie also helped in the family store and worked as a lifeguard. She kept busy in school with cheerleading and gymnastics but after portraying Laura in "The Glass Menagerie", Julie knew she wanted to be an actress. While attending the University of South Carolina, Julie was invited to NYC by a theater classmate and never looked back. Julie began taking acting and diction classes at HB Studios, modeled, appeared in videos and commercials, and like many aspiring actors before her worked nights at the restaurant on top of the World Trade Center. Eventually moving to Los Angeles, Julie continued acting while also studying with The Groundlings, Candy Herman, and Harry Mastrogeorge. After joining an LA Filmmaking Group, Julie took on a multitude of roles behind the camera as well as in front of it. In this intense environment she wrote, directed, acted, and filmed in an experimental way. From this creative inspiration, Julie found herself behind the camera directing the comedy "Cannes Without A Plan", a reality pilot about three divorcees (including herself) spontaneously taking off to the Cannes Film Festival. Deciding to shoot the feature pilot was as impromptu as the trip itself. With no crew, Julie used only her handheld camera to film the rollicking romp. After a hiatus of several years to focus on her two children, Julie returned in 2018 to direct the bluegrass documentary "Fiddlin". Excited to be creating again, and with her children in college, Julie recently resumed acting and continues to develop and write more projects. Julie is a versatile actress who feels as comfortable doing serious roles as well as the wacky comedic ones. She feels staying flexible and being involved in many creative aspects of the film business is the best way to remain part of this ever changing industry. Julie now lives between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, but will always be a southern gal at heart.