Julia was born in Austria of Ukrainian background. She had a post-war education in semi-rural south-east England where she had a happy childhood. She's been a bit of a wanderer travelling to many countries but now lives in Adelaide, Australia. Julia seems to thrive on change. The number of jobs she's had is much like the number of countries she’s visited – 35 in all. Those jobs have ranged from teacher’s aide, hand pollinating corn in fields, TV ads, working in a funeral parlour, plus an assortment of secretarial and administrative positions.

Julia adores her miniature poodle, Pippin who competes in dog sports and walks him every day. She loves her garden, enjoys reading and writing children's stories. Julia is happily married with one son, two stepsons, one stepdaughter and four grandchildren. Her aspiration is to write a series of children’s books and on that note, she agrees with the optimistic view on life that "the glass is half full, not half empty".