Later that year, she portrayed Kat Stratford, opposite Heath Ledger in Gil Junger's 10 Things I Hate About You, an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew set in a high school in Tacoma, Washington. Critic Joe Balthai wrote she was "the darling of the 1998 Sundance Film Festival." She next starred in a made-for-TV movie titled The '60s in 1999. Her first lead was in Wicked (1998) playing a teenage girl who might have murdered her mother so she could have her father all to herself. Pakula's The Devil's Own (1997) and in M. She also had small roles as Harrison Ford's character's daughter in Alan J. Stiles's first film role was in I Love You, I Love You Not (1996), with Claire Danes and Jude Law. She started acting at the age of 11 performing with New York's La MaMa Theatre Company. Stiles is of English, Irish, and Italian descent. She is the oldest of three children her siblings are John Junior and Jane (a fellow actress). Stiles was born in New York City to parents Judith Newcomb Stiles, a Greenwich Village artist, and John O'Hara, an elementary school teacher.
She currently stars as Georgina Ryland on the Sky Atlantic series Riviera (2017–present).
From 2012–14 she appeared as the titular character in the web series Blue, for which she earned two IAWTV Awards for Best Actress. Outside of film, Stiles played Lumen Pierce on the fifth season of Dexter (2010), earning nominations for the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress. Her other notable film credits include Hamlet, State and Main (both 2000), O (2001), A Guy Thing (2002), Carolina (2003), The Prince & Me (2004), Edmond, A Little Trip to Heaven (both 2005), The Cry of the Owl (2009), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), Out of the Dark (2014), Blackway (2015), 11:55 (2016), Hustlers (2019), and The God Committee (2021). Stiles transitioned to adult roles with films such as The Business of Strangers (2001), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), and The Omen (2006), and became known to audiences worldwide with her portrayal of Nicky Parsons in the Bourne franchise (2002–2016). Her accolades include an NBR Award, a CFCA Award, a Gold Derby Award, a Teen Choice Award and two MTV Movie Awards, as well as Satellite Award, Gotham Award, Golden Globe Award, and Emmy Award nominations.
She rose to prominence with leading roles in teen films such as 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Down to You (2000), and Save the Last Dance (2001). Her film debut was a small role in I Love You, I Love You Not (1996), followed by a lead role in Wicked (1998) for which she received the Karlovy Vary Film Festival Award for Best Actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress.