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Julia Whelan

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Julia Whelan
Julia Whelan receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree at the 2008 Middlebury College Commencement
Born
Julia May Whelan

(1984-05-08) May 8, 1984 (age 40)
Oregon, United States
Occupations
  • Actress
  • narrator
  • author
Years active1996–present
AwardsYoung Artist Award for Best Ensemble in a TV Series (drama or comedy) (2001) for Once and Again

Julia May Whelan (born May 8, 1984) is an American actress, narrator and author. As an actress, she is best known for her role as Grace Manning on the television family drama series Once and Again (1999–2002), and her co-starring role in the 2002 Lifetime movie The Secret Life of Zoey. A noted child actor, Whelan first appeared on screen at the age of 11 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 2006–2007 academic year as a visiting student at Lincoln College, Oxford.[1][2] Whelan returned to film acting in November 2008 with a role in the fantasy thriller Fading of the Cries. In the 2010s, Whelan stepped away from her acting career to become an audiobook narrator. As of July 2022, she has narrated over 400 audiobooks.[3] In 2018, she published her debut novel My Oxford Year.

Early life

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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,[4] 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.[5] They developed a close relationship, and eventually Prysirr became her guardian, escorting her on trips to Los Angeles, where she soon found professional success.[citation needed]

Whelan moved to Los Angeles with Prysirr and his wife, Days of Our Lives actress Derya Ruggles, [4] so that Whelan could advance her career. Her first TV role was in an April 8, 1996, episode of the drama series Nowhere Man.

Early acting career

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Whelan was first introduced to a broader audience in the 1998 TV movie Fifteen and Pregnant as the younger sister of Kirsten Dunst, who portrayed the movie's pregnant protagonist. In 1999 Whelan landed the role for which she is still best known, playing insecure teenager Grace Manning on the family drama Once and Again. The cast included Sela Ward and Billy Campbell as single parents trying to nurture a romance and eventually build a blended family together.

Once and Again was noted for the high quality of its actors,[6] particularly the younger cast members,[7] who were praised for their sensitive performances;[6] they were given screen time commensurate with that of the adult leads. Whelan, Meredith Deane, Shane West, and Evan Rachel Wood played the children of Ward and Campbell, respectively; Mischa Barton joined the show in its final season as Evan Rachel Wood's girlfriend. This lesbian storyline was dovetailed with an equally controversial plot involving Whelan's character in a doomed romance with her high school drama teacher "Mr. Dmitri", played by Eric Stoltz. Whelan, Deane, and Wood were recognized for their performances in April 2001, winning that year's Young Artist Award (from Young Artist Association) for Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Drama or Comedy);[8] Whelan was nominated individually in March 2000 for Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Supporting Young Actress.[9]

After Once and Again wrapped up its three-year run, Whelan co-starred in the 2002 Lifetime Television movie, The Secret Life of Zoey, as a model student struggling with a prescription drug addiction. Mia Farrow portrayed her mother and Andrew McCarthy was her rehab counselor. The movie was promoted alongside Lifetime TV rebroadcasts of Once and Again. Whelan continued to take television roles through 2004, when she enrolled in Middlebury College.

Whelan spent the 2006–2007 academic year as a visiting student at Lincoln College, Oxford.[1][2]

Audiobook narration

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Whelan has won acclaim for her narration of many audiobooks,[10] including Gillian Flynn's 2012 thriller Gone Girl (co-read with Kirby Heyborne), Nora Roberts' The Witness, for which she won Best Romance at the 2013 Audie Awards,[11] and Tara Westover's Educated, for which she won Best Female Narrator in 2019 at the same awards. Whelan also narrated the award-winning novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh, the New York Times bestseller Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes, and her own novel, My Oxford Year.

As of July 2022, Whelan had narrated more than 400 audiobooks, as well as articles for New York, The New Yorker and other magazines.[3]

Whelan also narrates long-form nonfiction journalism, including articles from The New Yorker, The Atlantic, ProPublica, and Vanity Fair.[12][13]

Author

[edit]

In 2018, Whelan published her debut novel, My Oxford Year, which Entertainment Weekly called "a breathtakingly perfect picture of Oxford" and "a powerfully heartbreaking and life-affirming tribute to love and to choice". In 2022, she released her sophomore novel, Thank You for Listening. [14]

Adaptation

[edit]

In 2024, filming began on an adaptation of the film My Oxford Year for Netflix.[15][16]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1996 Nowhere Man Young Laura Episode: "Through a Lens Darkly"
Christmas Every Day Jacey Jackson Television film
1998 Fifteen and Pregnant Rachel Spangler Television film
Promised Land Mazie Andrus Episode: "On My Honor"
ER Laura Episode: "The Miracle Worker"
1999-2002 Once and Again Grace Manning Main Role
2002 The Secret Life of Zoey Zoey Carter Television film
2004 Dr. Vegas Claire Episode: "Advantage Play"
Clubhouse Maggie Archer Episode: "Spectator Interference"
2011 Fading of the Cries Emily Television film
NCIS: Los Angeles Karen Davis Episode: "Greed"
2012 The Confession Alyson Television film
The Closer Natalie Gilbert Episode: "Hostile Witness"
Castle Tina Massey Episode: "Pandora"
2017 NCIS Greta Fensternacht Episode: "Pandora's Box (Part 1)"

Bibliography

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  • — (2018). My Oxford Year. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-06-274064-9. LCCN 2018275169. OCLC 995335673.
  • — (2022). Thank You for Listening. New York: Avon. ISBN 978-0-06-324315-6. LCCN 2023276406. OCLC 1337056302.

Awards and honors

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AudioFile has named Whelan a Golden Voice narrator.[17]

Awards

[edit]
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2013 The Witness by Nora Roberts Audie Award for Romance Winner [18][19]
2015 The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson Audie Award for Teens Finalist [20]
Love Letters to the Dead (2014) by Ava Dellaira Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top 10 [21][22]
The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance Finalist [20]
Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming Audie Award for Solo Narration - Female Finalist [20]
2017 Traffick by Ellen Hopkins Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top 10 [23][24]
2018 Good Behavior by Blake Crouch Audie Award for Short Stories or Collections Finalist [18]
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance Finalist [25]
2019 Educated by Tara Westover Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Top 10 [26][27]
Audie Award for Autobiography or Memoir Winner [17][28][29][30][31]
Audie Award for Best Female Narrator Winner [17][28][29][30][31]
Far from the Tree (2012) Audie Award for Young Adult Title Finalist [30][32]
The Great Alone (2018) by Kristin Hannah Audie Award for Fiction Finalist [30][32]
2020 Birthday Suit by Lauren Blakely Audie Award for Audio Drama Finalist [33][34]
Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White Audie Award for Middle Grade Title Winner [17]
Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year Finalist [33]
Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid Audie Award for Short Stories or Collections Finalist [33][34]
2021 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020) by V. E. Schwab Audie Award for Fantasy Finalist [35]
2022 The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah Audie Award for Best Female Narrator Finalist [36]
Audie Award for Fiction Finalist [36]

"Best of" lists

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Year Title List Ref.
2010 The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson AudioFile Best Young Adult [17]
2012 The Grimm Legacy [17]
Magisterium [17]
The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [37][38]
Zombies v. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier [38]
2013 In the After AudioFile Best Young Adult [17]
The Witness by Nora Roberts AudioFile Best Romantic Fiction [17]
2014 Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [39]
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson AudioFile Best Young Adult [17]
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson [17]
Team Human by Justine Larbalesti & Sarah Rees Brennan Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [39]
We Are The Goldens AudioFile Best Young Adult [17]
2015 The Impossible Knife of Memor by Laurie Halse Anderson Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [40]
Princess of Thorns AudioFile' Best Young Adult [17]
2016 Girl In Pieces [17]
Slasher Girls and Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [41]
2017 Flying Lessons and Other Stories AudioFile Best Children & Family Listening [17]
Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [42]
2018 Educated by Tara Westover AudioFile' Best Memoir [17]
A Million Junes by Emily Henry Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [43]
The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine by Mark Twain and others Notable Children's Recordings [44]
2019 Daisy Jones & The Six AudioFile Best Fiction, Poetry, & Drama [17]
Educated by Tara Westover RUSA Listen List [45][46]
A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [47][27]
2021 People We Meet On Vacation (2020) by Emily Henry AudioFile Best Romance [17]
2022 The Cousins by Karen M. McManus Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [48]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Middlebury College Study Abroad United Kingdom and Ireland 2007-2008" (PDF). www.middlebury.edu. Retrieved 2008-07-15.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b Whelan, Julia (2006-10-26). "Overseas Briefing - News". The Middlebury Campus. Archived from the original on 2009-08-15. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  3. ^ a b Rosman, Katherine (2022-07-22). "That Voice You're Hearing? It Might Be Hers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
  4. ^ a b Hall, Carla (April 22, 2000). "Acting Her Age". TV Guide. Vol. 48, no. 17. pp. 42–44. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  5. ^ "Julia Whelan in Once and Again on WCHS-TV8". www.wchstv.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  6. ^ a b Roush, Matt (2001-04-21). "The Best Show You're Not Watching". TV Guide. Vol. 49, no. 16. pp. 16–23.
  7. ^ Rice, Lynette (2005-08-26). "Once and Again: The Complete Second Season - DVD Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  8. ^ "22nd Annual Awards". www.youngartistawards.org. Archived from the original on 2014-09-28. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  9. ^ "21st Annual Awards". www.youngartistawards.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  10. ^ "AudioFile Magazine Spotlight on Narrator Julia Whelan". AudioFile Magazine.
  11. ^ "2013 Audies Award Finalists and Winners". AudioFile. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  12. ^ Levy, Candace (2018-09-26). "5 Questions With Julia Whelan". Audiofile Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  13. ^ Kitchener, Caroline (2019-05-01). "You might have spent hours of your life listening to Julia Whelan's voice, without ever realizing it". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  14. ^ "'My Oxford Year' is a tender, moving tale of self-discovery and first love: EW review". EW.com.
  15. ^ "Netflix production My Oxford Year filming in sites across Windsor". Slough Observer. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Netflix filming crews spotted in Oxford city centre". This is Oxfordshire. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "AudioFile Magazine Spotlight on Narrator Julia Whelan". AudioFile Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  18. ^ a b "Awards: Ben Franklin and Audie Winners; Camões Prize for Literature". Shelf Awareness. 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  19. ^ "2013 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  20. ^ a b c "2015 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-08-29. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  21. ^ "2015 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  22. ^ Lam, Anna (2015-02-05). "YALSA names 2015 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  23. ^ "2017 Top Ten Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2017-01-25. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  24. ^ O'Connor, Nichole (2017-01-31). "YALSA names 2017 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  25. ^ "2018 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  26. ^ Lam, Anna (2019-01-22). "YALSA names 2019 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  27. ^ a b Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults: 2019. 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2022-09-24 – via Booklist.
  28. ^ a b "Audiobooks: The Libro.fm List". Shelf Awareness. 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  29. ^ a b "Audiobooks: The Audie Awards". Shelf Awareness. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  30. ^ a b c d "2019 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  31. ^ a b Maher, John (2019-03-05). "Adeyemi, Turpin Win Top Award at 2019 Audies". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  32. ^ a b "Audiobooks: Audie Award Nominees". Shelf Awareness. 2019-02-06. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  33. ^ a b c "2020 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  34. ^ a b "2020 Audie Awards Finalists Named". Publishers Weekly. 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  35. ^ "2021 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  36. ^ a b "2022 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  37. ^ "The Sky is Everywhere | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. February 22, 2012. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  38. ^ a b "Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults 2012". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  39. ^ a b "Amazing Audio Books for Young Adults 2014". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2014-01-30. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  40. ^ "2015 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  41. ^ "2016 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  42. ^ "2017 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2017-01-25. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  43. ^ "2018 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  44. ^ Notable Children's Recordings: 2018. 2018-04-19 – via Booklist.
  45. ^ Moore, Ninah (2019-01-27). "2019 Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration for Adult Listeners revealed". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  46. ^ The Listen List: Outstanding Audio Narration, 2019. 2019-03-15 – via Booklist.
  47. ^ "2019 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  48. ^ "2022 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
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