Julia Whelan

Julia May Whelan (born May 8, 1984) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Grace Manning on the TV drama series Once and Again (1999-2002), and her co-starring role in the 2002 Lifetime Television movie, The Secret Life of Zoey. A noted child actor, Whelan first appeared on screen at the age of eleven, and continued to take television roles until her matriculation into Middlebury College in 2004; Whelan graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury in 2008 after spending the 2006-7 academic year as a visiting student at Lincoln College, Oxford. Whelan returned to film acting in November 2008 with a role in the fantasy thriller Fading of the Cries.

Early life

Julia May Whelan was born in Oregon on May 8, 1984. Her father was a firefighter and her mother a teacher. Whelan first acted in community theater at the age of five, and yearly trips to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon deepened her interest in an acting career. At age ten she began acting lessons with actor/screenwriter Geof Prysirr. Prysirr developed a close professional and personal relationship with Whelan, eventually becoming her guardian. Prysirr began escorting Whelan on trips to Los Angeles, where she soon found professional success.