Julia
Sweeney is best known for her four hit seasons on "Saturday Night Live"
and her most popular character while on that show: "Pat," as well as
her critically acclaimed one-person-shows, "God Said Ha!," "In The
Family Way," and "Letting Go of God." "God Said Ha!" played on Broadway
at the Lyceum theater in 1996 and was released as a Miramax film,
produced by Quentin Tarantino, in 1998. "Letting Go of God" was filmed
by Julia's own production company, Indefatigable, Inc. It has
been bought by Showtime for a cable release in 2009. Currently
the DVD of "Letting Go of God" is being sold on Amazon.com.
Julia
started her
acting career out in Los Angeles at The Groundlings Theater, a well
known improvisational and sketch comedy company. It was there that she
met fellow SNL cast members Phil Hartman and Jon Lovitz, and where
"Saturday Night Live" producer Lorne Michaels tapped her for the
late-night show. Sweeney spun one of her most popular characters into
the feature film "It's Pat," and after leaving Saturday Night Live, she
moved back to Los Angeles. The film was a flop at the box office,
but still has some fans who like it nonetheless.
After
moving back to L.A. in 1994, Julia's brother Michael was diagnosed with cancer,
and so was she. Her experiences led her to write and star in "God Said,
'Ha!'" Produced by Quentin Tarantino and released theatrically by
Miramax, the film version of the play earned the Golden Space Needle
Award for best directing, while Sweeney's recording earned her a Grammy
nomination for best comedy album.
Sweeney's second monologue, "In The Family Way" chronicles the adoption of her daughter from China. This show played in New York City at the Ars Nova Theater as well as in Los Angeles at the Groundlings Theater. In the summer of 2006, Julia was asked by the Hollywood Bowl to perform "In The Family Way" with a new original score written especially for her show by Anthony Marinelli, and this was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Sweeney's
third monologue, "Letting Go of God" ran for ten months to sold out
crowds at the Hudson Backstage Theater in Los Angeles, and then also
played in New York City at the Ars Nova Theater. This show has earned
her the best reviews she has ever gotten for her stage work. This
monologue has also been made into a film, but this time by Julia's own production company, Indefatigable, Inc.
In the meantime, and along the way, Julia has
worked as a
producing consultant on "Desperate Housewives" and she was a consultant
for three seasons on "Sex & the City." She has also worked as
an
actress in film, in Pulp Fiction, Clockstoppers, Stuart Little,
Beethoven 3 & 4, Stuart Saves his Family, Coneheads, among
others.
In television she has been a series regular on "George and Leo," and
"Maybe It's Me" as well as making guest starring appearances on "3rd
Rock From The Sun," "Frasier," "Mad About You" and "Sex and the City," among
others.
Julia is originally from Spokane, Washington and she attended
the University of Washington in Seattle.
Julia married in 2008 and currently lives near Chicago with her husband and daughter.