Juliette Lewis

American actress whose performance in Martin Scorsese’s "Cape Fear" earned her an Oscar nomination. Lewis’s ability to change her appearance from attractive and seductive to ugly and repellant is a major part of her success, as shown by her role as a sadistic serial killer in "Natural Born Killers."

The daughter of graphic designer Glenis Batley and actor Geoffrey Lewis, Juliette had 11 siblings and half-siblings as a result of her mother’s three marriages and her father’s four. Her parents divorced when she was two years old. Two of her siblings, Lightfield and Dierdre Lewis, also became actors. She was rebellious even as a very young child, and at the age of seven, she dreamed of becoming an actress, a goal she reached by the time she was 12. School and her parents ‘interfered’ with her career, and child labor laws prevented her from working more than five hours a day, so at age 14, the feisty teenager applied for, and was granted, legal emancipation. Although she had done well throughout elementary school, she hated seventh grade and despised being forced to study, so at age 15, she dropped out of school. Soon afterward, Juliette, who was underage, was arrested for being in a disco; the mug shot from that arrest hangs as a souvenir on her wall. She later earned her high school equivalency by working with a tutor.

After moving to Hollywood, Juliette found the independence she had so fiercely sought, and she was soon winning roles in films such as "Home Fires," 1987, and "National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation." Her dramatic performance in "Too Young to Die," the true story of the first minor to receive the death penalty, gave her reputation a great boost, and she has worked steadily ever since. In 2000, she made several films including "Room to Rent."

A devoted member of the Church of Scientology, Juliette often walks around with a tape recorder, attempting to capture realistic everyday life experiences to use in her acting career.