Julianne Moore was born Julie Anne Smith in Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville, North Carolina,she´s the daughter of Anne, a psychiatric social worker who emigrated from Dunoon, Scotland, and Peter Moore Smith, a military lawyer, judge, helicopter pilot and army colonel. She has a younger sister, Valerie, and younger brother, novelist Peter Moore Smith III. Growing up as an "army brat" she lived in several places across the United States and Germany. Moore attended Frankfurt American High School in Frankfurt, Germany, graduating in 1979. She received her Bachelor`s degree at the College of Fine Arts in Boston University.

Career
Moore moved to New York City in 1983, working as a waitress before being cast in the dual roles of Frannie and Sabrina Hughes on the soap opera As the World Turns, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award; she played the roles from 1985 to 1988. Because of Screen Actors Guild rules, she had to change her name, since there were already actresses named "Julie Smith" and "Julianne Smith".[1] She chose her father`s middle name, "Moore", but because there was already another actress named "Julie Moore", she finally settled on "Julianne Moore."

Moore began starring in feature films in the early 1990s, mostly appearing in supporting roles in films like The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Benny and Joon, and The Fugitive. Her part in 1993`s Short Cuts gained her critical acclaim and recognition, and she was cast in several high-profile Hollywood films, including 1995`s romantic comedy Nine Months, and 1997`s summer blockbuster The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Her role in the well-reviewed independent film Safe also attracted critical attention.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Moore appeared in a series of films that received Oscar recognition, including her roles in Boogie Nights (Best Supporting Actress nomination), The End of the Affair (Best Actress nomination) and her two 2002 films, Far From Heaven (Best Actress nomination) and The Hours (Best Supporting Actress nomination). During this period, she also appeared in the commercial successes Hannibal (controversially replacing Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling) and The Forgotten and in Paul Thomas Anderson`s follow-up to Boogie Nights, Magnolia.

Her film Freedomland opened in February 2006 to mixed reviews. Another film, Trust the Man, is directed by her husband, Bart Freundlich, and also features her son, Caleb. In March 2006, it was announced Moore would make her Broadway debut in the world premiere of David Hare`s new play The Vertical Hour. The play opened in November 2006 and was directed by Sam Mendes. She most recently appeared opposite Nicolas Cage and Jessica Biel in Next, a science fiction action film based on The Golden Man, a short story by Philip K. Dick.

In October 2007, she published her first children`s picture book, entitled Freckleface Strawberry.

It was reported that in May 2008, she would appear on the ABC show Desperate Housewives as the sister of Marcia Cross` character, Bree Hodge. Michael Ausiello of TVGuide.com later reported this to be false.