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Julia Fox logs onto our Zoom exactly as you’d expect: confident, swept up in a whirlwind, and entirely captivating. It’s movie premiere day in Los Angeles, and I can see a multitude of outfits behind her ahead of the red carpet for HIM.
“Tonight, I’m wearing two dresses by an amazing designer based here in LA,” she tells me. “I just love uplifting the kids.” As she notes, the fashion world is a hard one to crack, and though she’s achieved that, it’s been no easy feat. The same could be said of her journey to fame.
Born in Milan to an Italian mother and an American father, Julia has made no secret of the turbulent nature of her upbringing in Italy and New York, which she detailed in her 2023 memoir Down the Drain. Between strained relationships with her parents – she describes her father as “volatile and verbally abusive” and her mother as “absent for long stretches” – arrests, drug addiction, a suicide attempt, and an overdose, perhaps ‘turbulent’ is an understatement.
With so much behind her, landing on her feet in this glossy world of fame and celebrity was surely not to be expected, I ask.
“Weirdly, I did,” she admits. “I didn’t actively work towards it. I didn’t set out to be famous. In fact, I would say I probably did a lot of things wrong that you’re not supposed to do if you’re planning to be famous, in terms of just being really messy and scandalous or whatever. But then, somehow, it still happened. Fame chooses you.”
Now 35 years old, it’s a world in which she’s been entrenched for over a decade, first with modelling and fashion design, along with two self-published books on photography, Symptomatic of a Relationship Gone Sour: Heartburn/Nausea (2015) and PTSD (2016). Fox then landed her debut film role, starring alongside Adam Sandler in the Safdie brothers’ 2019 hit Uncut Gems.
But it’s in today’s social-media-saturated world where Fox has truly carved out her own space. Outspoken, outrageous and truly unapologetic, she’s become a pop culture sensation for her viral soundbites, one-liners and no-nonsense attitude. And, of course, she’s just being Julia.
“I don’t set out to have a viral soundbite – it doesn’t work that way. That’s the beauty of those moments, they’re contrived – they’re real, genuine, raw, unfiltered,” she asserts. “You can just tell when someone is super media-trained to death. I just don’t think that’s sustainable in today’s world, where people have seen so much of the same bull****.”
But even for Fox, who’s arguably a seasoned pro in virality, it can all become overwhelming and disorienting. “In the moment, it’s scary. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, are they making fun of me? Do they hate me?’ But no, it’s endearing. They love it. It just takes time to understand that.”
The star’s popularity has extended far beyond her subversive style and meme-worthy moments, and into advocacy for broader social issues. She famously declared that fashion is never just fashion – it’s politics, power, and it’s protest.
“I definitely love making political statements through fashion – female, femme empowerment, feminism – but also, just using your mouth.”
This may be why fame found her, I suggest.
“I’m very humanitarian, and I care a lot about justice and what’s fair and what’s wrong. Obviously, then the floodgates open up on you, and then everyone’s hating on you, which has happened to me a bajillion times,” she reflects. But she says it’s something she’s used to now.
“I’m really desensitised to it… You just have to rip the band-aid off. What’s the point of being a celebrity if you can’t [speak up]? Otherwise, it just feels so in vain,” she adds.
Fox lights up when I mention the recent Emmys, where her friends Meg Stalter and Hannah Einbinder both made strong statements about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Stalter, dressed in a casual outfit of jeans and a white tee, wore a ‘ceasefire’ message on her black handbag, while Einbinder proclaimed “Free Palestine” as she accepted her Emmy for her role in Hacks.
“It is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel,” the actress later elaborated during a press briefing. “Our religion and our culture are such an important and long-standing institution that is really separate [from] this sort of ethnonationalist state.”
Fox feels immense gratitude for them both.
“I’m so proud of them,” she says.
“I feel like the younger generation coming up is so fearless, and they give me hope. When they make a stand, others feel empowered to do the same… that’s what we need right now.”
Her commitment and love for the Middle East runs deep, too, having frequently visited the region over the years. In particular, Beirut holds a special place in her heart.
“I’ve been to Lebanon a couple of times… It’s my favourite place on Earth,” she says warmly. “The people are just the greatest people you’ll ever meet. They will literally give you the shirt off their back. It’s like the kindness is so embedded in them.
“And that’s what I found to be true for most people from the Middle East. It’s just so upsetting that it’s had to be plagued with these wars. [But] it didn’t destroy their sense of humanity. They still can smile at you and be nice and kind and generous and open up their home to you. That is just so beautiful and remarkable.”
Back to her new film, HIM, which is premiering on the night of our conversation. Also starring Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers, the movie tells the story of an ambitious footballer who begins training with his hero following a career-ending injury. As their time together goes on, their dynamic devolves into something darker.
“It’s about the sacrifices one makes to be great, and how being great is really a cross to bear,” Fox explains. “There’s the fear of someone new taking your place, the realisation that idols are never what you project them to be. And, of course, American football – it’s brutal and violent, all the things that make America great,” she deadpans, before quickly adding, “That was sarcasm, by the way.”
When all is said and done, Fox is quick to connect her activism and artistry to her roots. Despite her tumultuous childhood, the actress reflects fondly on her Italian upbringing. “Italy gave me family, morals, values – it kept me sane. Even though we didn’t have a lot of money, I still felt really rich at heart in Italy, as opposed to New York. I have such a soft spot for Italy, and it really did shape me. Even though I’m such a New York girl, my insides are Italian, you know?”
Now raising her four-year-old son, Valentino, whom she shares with her ex-husband Peter Artemiev, those Italian roots live on. “He goes to an Italian school. I cook a lot, which I learned from living in Italy, so he eats a lot of authentic Italian cuisine. As soon as I have some time, I want to go to Italy to spend a substantial amount of time there… so he can also have what I had.”
Beyond all the virality, fashion statements and fame, at her core, Fox is a mother working to provide the life she wants for her child. “I’m just a working mum. I work so I can get home. That’s number one.” The drive to do so stems from a childhood of scarcity. “When you grow up with financial insecurity, it never goes away,” she tells me. “You could have money and still be terrified you’ll lose it tomorrow.” A sentiment she believes keeps her frugal at heart.
“I’m still a discount shopper. I still look for deals. I don’t have a plan B; it’s me or nothing,” she affirms.
Before we part ways, I bring up our cover shoot in New York just a couple of weeks earlier. She’s only just seen the final images today and is genuinely in awe, calling them some of her best yet. For someone who has made a career out of being unfiltered, it feels fitting that even in front of the camera, Fox is at her most powerful when she’s simply herself.
“It’s amazing. It’s incredible. Jaw on the floor,” she says emphatically. “I usually kind of dissociate during those big shoots, like, ‘Get me out of here by four o’clock.’ But this one? The energy was just so good. Every set is its own little ecosystem, and this was the right people.”
I could say the same of our choice of cover star for this issue, themed ‘Call of the Wild’, I tell her. She laughs. “It’s funny when people say I’m wild, because I’m so tame now,” she confesses. “I definitely was at one point, but being a mommy and everything, you just try your best to be normal.”
She catches herself, though.
“It’s still in me… somewhere.”
DISCOVER GRAZIA’S FULL PHOTO SHOOT WITH JULIA FOX HERE.
CREATIVE DIRECTION: DANÉ STOJANOVIC. PHOTOGRAPHY: TAREK MAWAD. FASHION STYLIST: LAURA JANE BROWN. HAIR: JOHN NOVONTNY. MAKEUP: JAKE DUPONT. MANICURE: JUAN ALVEAR. SENIOR PRODUCER: STEFF HAWKER. PRODUCTION: PIQUE. PRODUCER: IMAD EL SHEIKH. PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: SENNA. DIGITAL TECHNICIAN: ALEX LV. PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT: BENJI GEISLER. FASHION ASSISTANT: LAUREN WALSH. PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: VEER KAUR. ART ASSISTANT: BRE ANDY. VIDEOGRAPHY: SONIA BROMAN. TALENT: JULIA FOX
TOP BANNER IMAGE: RAFFIA CADDY TOP, AISTĖ HONG, SHOP SIMILAR
