Julie was born in Auckland, New Zealand, of Croatian origin. She has an MA (Hons) degree in history from the University of Auckland and was an active member of Gay Liberation, feminist and lesbian groups in the 1970s and 1980s.
 

Julie was a resident at the Stout Research Centre in 1987. In 1991 she won the Goldman Fielder Book Award for her contribution to the 'Dictionary of NZ Biographies' and in July 1996 Julie and her co-author Alison J Laurie were nomimated in the USA in the Lesbian Studies category for a Lambda Award for the book on Parker and Hulme.
 

Her social histories have included contributions to the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Women Together: A History of Women’s Organisations in New Zealand, and SPIRAL magazine. She has published a history of lesbian political activity in New Zealand and co-authored “Parker and Hulme: A Lesbian View” which explored the circumstances and social impact of the 1954 Christchurch murder case. 
 

Julie was an academic contributor to the Lesbian Studies Journal 2001 ( link to the article) with her submission "An Astounding Masquerade". The pattern of regulatory responses by the dominant hetero-culture is discussed in relation to the case of Mr X  and other similar cases and categorised into three strategies deployed to control sexual difference -reinforcement, containment, and leverage.

 

Julie is an avid ballroom and latin dancer and an intrepid cyclist. Together with her longtime partner she runs a commercial organic fig orchard in Northland.