Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in independent films and blockbusters since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled and vulnerable women. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Emmy Awards. Additionally, she is one of only two women to have won an acting award at each of the world's three major film festivals (the Volpi Cup, the Silver Bear for Best Actress and the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress). After studying theater at Boston University, she had a regular role in the soap opera As the World Turns from 1985 to 1988, earning a Daytime Emmy Award. Moore made her breakthrough with Robert Altman's ensemble film Short Cuts (1993), followed by a critically acclaimed performance in Todd Haynes' Safe (1995). Starring roles in the blockbusters Nine Months (1995) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) established her as a Hollywood leading lady. She received Oscar nominations for her roles as a 1970s pornographic actress in the drama film Boogie Nights (1997) and emotionally unsatisfied housewives in the period dramas The End of the Affair (1999), Far from Heaven (2002), and The Hours (2002). Moore's career progressed with roles in The Big Lebowski (1998), Magnolia (1999), Hannibal (2001), Children of Men (2006), A Single Man (2009), The Kids Are All Right (2010), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), and Maps to the Stars (2014). She won a Primetime Emmy for playing Sarah Palin in the HBO film Game Change (2012), and the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of an Alzheimer's patient in Still Alice (2014). Her highest-grossing releases came with the final two films in The Hunger Games film series (2014–2015) and the spy film Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). Since then she starred in independent films and streaming projects including Haynes' drama May December (2023), the historical drama miniseries Mary & George (2024), and the black comedy limited series Sirens (2025). In addition to acting, Moore has written a series of children's books about a character named Freckleface Strawberry. She is married to director Bart Freundlich and they have two children. In 2015, Time named her to its 100 most influential people in the world list and in 2020, The New York Times named her one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.