Julie Brown

Julie Brown, born in Van Nuys, California) is an American actor, stand-up comic, comedic singer-songwriter and screenwriter. Brown is perhaps best known for her work in the 1980s, where she often played a quintessential valley girl character. She attended Catholic school as a child and as a young adult attended Los Angeles Valley College. Much of her comedy has revolved around the mocking of famous people (with a strong and frequently revisited focus on Madonna.) However, unlike comedian Kathy Griffin, who claims to love the celebrities she mocks, Brown satirizes and attacks those whom she feels are undeserving of their fame and are of questionable talent.

Career

Comedian Lily Tomlin saw Brown at a comedy club and gave her her first break, a part in her 1981 film The Incredible Shrinking Woman. A string of B-movies followed.

In 1983 Brown married writer and actor Terrence E. McNally, who would also become a frequent collaborator. Together they co-produced her first single, I Like 'em Big and Stupid.

In 1985 she released her first EP, a five-song album called Goddess in Progress. The album, parodies of popular '80s music combined with her valley girl personality, was quickly discovered by the Dr. Demento Show. The songs "'Cause I'm a Blonde" and "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" were given radio airplay across the world. The latter was a spoof on traditional 1950s songs about teen romance, à la "It's My Party", with cheerleaders' heads and pompoms being blown to pieces by bullets and, finally, the homecoming queen cryptically explaining herself, "I did it for Johnny" before dying herself.

In 1987, Brown released her first full-length album, called Trapped in the Body of a White Girl. The album highlighted her comedic talent and valley girl personality but made it clear she was not necessarily a gifted singer. (This was actually part of the joke, as Brown felt that a lot of female singers at fame in the era were not particularly gifted.) The album's highlights were "Homecoming Queen..." and "I Like 'Em Big and Stupid". Music videos were recorded and received heavy airplay on MTV.

In 1989, MTV gave Brown her own comedy and music video show, Just Say Julie. She played the role of a demanding, controlling, and pessimistic glamour-puss from the valley. She made fun of popular music acts from the era while at the same time introducing their music videos. She frequently mocked or attacked performers whose credibility she felt was questionable. Wilson Phillips were frequent and aytpical sybjects of Brown's Ire: For example:

Julie: Oh, I think I'm dying! Oh my God! I can see my family reaching out to me from the Great Beyond. Wait. What's that? A Wilson Phillips video? Oh no, I'm goin' to hell!

Brown's on-screen career hit its peak in late 1989 with the release of the film Earth Girls Are Easy. Written, produced, and starring Brown, it was based loosely on a song by the same name from her debut EP. The film also starred Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. Brown cast then-unknown comedians Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans in the film. Brown divorced McNally later that year.

In 1992, Brown was given her own sketch comedy show on Fox called The Edge, but unfortunately its quirky humor didn't have a mass appeal and it was soon cancelled, although two regulars she cast, Jennifer Aniston and Wayne Knight, went on to greater success in other television comedies. That same year, she released the Showtime television movie Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful. A scathing satire of celebrity Madonna and her documentary film Truth or Dare, it was hailed by critics as a comedic triumph. Julie followed its success with another satire film, Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 Women, which lampooned Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, as well as Lorena Bobbitt. She continued to make television guest appearances and contributed voices to various cartoons including Animaniacs.

In 1994 Brown married Ken Rathjen and together they have one son.

In 1995, Brown collaborated on the production of a script she had co-written with director Amy Heckerling called Clueless. The film was a smash hit, and a TV series spinoff produced and directed by Brown was also popular. She focused on this show until its cancellation in 1999.

In 2000, Brown created Strip Mall for the Comedy Central network; the series lasted two years.

Since 2004, Brown has been a frequent commentator on several E! specials, including 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled, 101 Most Starlicious Makeovers, 101 Most Awesome Moments in Entertainment, and 50 Most Outrageous TV Moments.

In 2005 Brown purchased the rights to her Trapped album back from the record label and re-issuing it, label-free, herself. The album received a limited re-issue, however at a rather expensive price of $19.99. She also released a single, again label-free, titled "I Want to Be Gay".