Julia Whelan
- Actress
- author
Julia May Whelan (born May 8, 1984) is an American actress and author. 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.
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,[3] 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.[4] 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, [3] 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
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,[5] particularly the younger cast members,[6] who were praised for their sensitive performances;[5] 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);[7] Whelan was nominated individually in March 2000 for Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Supporting Young Actress.[8]
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]
Filmography
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)" |
Audiobook narration
Whelan has won acclaim for her narration of many audiobooks,[9] 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[10], 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.
Whelan also narrates long-form nonfiction journalism, including articles from The New Yorker, The Atlantic, ProPublica, and Vanity Fair.[11][12]
Author
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. [13]
Awards and honors
AudioFile has named Whelan a Golden Voice narrator.[14]
Awards
Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | {The Witness by Nora Roberts | Audie Award for Romance | Winner | [15][16] |
2015 | The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson | Audie Award for Teens | Finalist | [17] |
Love Letters to the Dead (2014) by Ava Dellaira | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | Top 10 | [18][19] | |
The Sixteenth of June by Maya Lang | Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance | Finalist | [17] | |
Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming | Audie Award for Solo Narration - Female | Finalist | [17] | |
2017 | Traffick by Ellen Hopkins | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | Top 10 | [20][21] |
2018 | Good Behavior by Blake Crouch | Audie Award for Short Stories or Collections | Finalist | [15] |
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance | Finalist | [22] | |
2019 | Educated by Tara Westover | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | Top 10 | [23][24] |
Audie Award for Autobiography or Memoir | Winner | [14][25][26][27][28] | ||
Audie Award for Best Female Narrator | Winner | [14][25][26][27][28] | ||
Far from the Tree (2012) | Audie Award for Young Adult Title | Finalist | [27][29] | |
The Great Alone (2018) by Kristin Hannah | Audie Award for Fiction | Finalist | [27][29] | |
2020 | Birthday Suit by Lauren Blakely | Audie Award for Audio Drama | Finalist | [30][31] |
Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White | Audie Award for Middle Grade Title | Winner | [14] | |
Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year | Finalist | [30] | ||
Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Audie Award for Short Stories or Collections | Finalist | [30][31] | |
2021 | The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020) by V. E. Schwab | Audie Award for Fantasy | Finalist | [32] |
2022 | The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah | Audie Award for Best Female Narrator | Finalist | [33] |
Audie Award for Fiction | Finalist | [33] |
"Best of" lists
Year | Title | List | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson | AudioFile Best Young Adult | [14] |
2012 | The Grimm Legacy | [14] | |
Magisterium | [14] | ||
The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | [34][35] | |
Zombies v. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier | [35] | ||
2013 | In the After | AudioFile Best Young Adult | [14] |
The Witness by Nora Roberts | AudioFile Best Romantic Fiction | [14] | |
2014 | Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | [36] |
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson | AudioFile Best Young Adult | [14] | |
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson | [14] | ||
Team Human by Justine Larbalesti & Sarah Rees Brennan | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | [36] | |
We Are The Goldens | AudioFile Best Young Adult | [14] | |
2015 | The Impossible Knife of Memor by Laurie Halse Anderson | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | [37] |
Princess of Thorns | AudioFile' Best Young Adult | [14] | |
2016 | Girl In Pieces | [14] | |
Slasher Girls and Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | [38] | |
2017 | Flying Lessons and Other Stories | AudioFile Best Children & Family Listening | [14] |
Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | [39] | |
2018 | Educated by Tara Westover | AudioFile' Best Memoir | [14] |
A Million Junes by Emily Henry | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | [40] | |
The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine by Mark Twain and others | Notable Children's Recordings | [41] | |
2019 | Daisy Jones & The Six | AudioFile Best Fiction, Poetry, & Drama | [14] |
Educated by Tara Westover | RUSA Listen List | [42][43] | |
A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | [44][24] | |
2021 | People We Meet On Vacation (2020) by Emily Henry | AudioFile Best Romance | [14] |
2022 | The Cousins by Karen M. McManus | Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults | [45] |
References
- ^ a b "Middlebury College Study Abroad United Kingdom and Ireland 2007-2008" (PDF). www.middlebury.edu. Retrieved 2008-07-15.[permanent dead link]
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Hall, Carla (April 22, 2000). "Acting Her Age". TV Guide. Vol. 48, no. 17. pp. 42–44. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ "Julia Whelan in Once and Again on WCHS-TV8". www.wchstv.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
- ^ a b Roush, Matt (2001-04-21). "The Best Show You're Not Watching". TV Guide. Vol. 49, no. 16. pp. 16–23.
- ^ Rice, Lynette (2005-08-26). "Once and Again: The Complete Second Season - DVD Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
- ^ "22nd Annual Awards". www.youngartistawards.org. Archived from the original on 2014-09-28. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
- ^ "21st Annual Awards". www.youngartistawards.org. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- ^ "AudioFile Magazine Spotlight on Narrator Julia Whelan". AudioFile Magazine.
- ^ "2013 Audies Award Finalists and Winners". AudioFile. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
- ^ Levy, Candace (2018-09-26). "5 Questions With Julia Whelan". Audiofile Magazine. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "'My Oxford Year' is a tender, moving tale of self-discovery and first love: EW review". EW.com.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Awards: Ben Franklin and Audie Winners; Camões Prize for Literature". Shelf Awareness. 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2013 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b c "2015 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-08-29. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2015 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Lam, Anna (2015-02-05). "YALSA names 2015 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2017 Top Ten Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2017-01-25. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ O'Connor, Nichole (2017-01-31). "YALSA names 2017 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2018 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Lam, Anna (2019-01-22). "YALSA names 2019 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults: 2019. 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2022-09-24 – via Booklist.
- ^ a b "Audiobooks: The Libro.fm List". Shelf Awareness. 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b "Audiobooks: The Audie Awards". Shelf Awareness. 2019-03-11. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b c d "2019 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b Maher, John (2019-03-05). "Adeyemi, Turpin Win Top Award at 2019 Audies". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b "Audiobooks: Audie Award Nominees". Shelf Awareness. 2019-02-06. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b c "2020 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b "2020 Audie Awards Finalists Named". Publishers Weekly. 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2021 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b "2022 Audie Awards®". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "The Sky is Everywhere | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. February 22, 2012. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b "Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults 2012". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ a b "Amazing Audio Books for Young Adults 2014". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2014-01-30. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2015 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2015-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2016 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2017 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2017-01-25. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2018 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ Notable Children's Recordings: 2018. 2018-04-19 – via Booklist.
- ^ Moore, Ninah (2019-01-27). "2019 Listen List: Outstanding Audiobook Narration for Adult Listeners revealed". American Library Association. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ The Listen List: Outstanding Audio Narration, 2019. 2019-03-15 – via Booklist.
- ^ "2019 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- ^ "2022 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Julia Whelan at IMDb
- Prominent unofficial Julia Whelan website -- multimedia, links, biography
- Description of character "Grace Manning" at www.oandafans.com
- Photos of Whelan as "Grace Manning"[dead link]
- TV Guide profile of Julia Whelan, linked at www.angelfire.com/tv/onceagain
- Julia Whelan Photos and Videos[permanent dead link]
- Online description of Fading of the Cries