Biography
Julie Gibbs was born in Hertfordshire in August 1961. She has a brother named Graham, who joined the army when she was 13. Her mother, Jenny, worked as a corsetier and sales assistant, while her father transitioned from a career in public relations to become an ordained Anglican vicar. Julie attended Woodmansterne Primary School in Streatham, where she developed a passion for dance, drama, and ice skating. She later moved to Aylesbury to attend the Grammar School, where her interest in acting grew until she was 16.
Subsequently, she relocated to Sychdyn in Clwyd, North Wales, joining the Sixth Form at Mold Alun Comprehensive School and participating in The Clwyd Youth Theatre. There, she performed in community plays and at Theatr Clwyd, where she also worked as an usherette and in theatre administration before studying acting at the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff from 1981 to 1984.
In 1985 and 1986, Julie began working in stand-up comedy to obtain her Equity Card. She then joined the Sherman Theatre Company in Cardiff, appearing in three productions: the murder mystery musical Something Afoot, and two Christmas shows by Mike James, The Amazing Mr Toad and The Emperor's New Clothes. She toured Britain with the Hull Truck Theatre Company in the award-winning Salt The Earth by John Godber, which represented Britain at the International Theatre Festival in New York in 1989 after winning a Fringe First award at the 1988 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Following two Christmas productions at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter, and Leeds Playhouse, Julie worked in Denmark in 1990 with The English Speaking Theatre Company of Copenhagen. Returning to Wales, she enjoyed success in comedy radio, including regular appearances as a guest panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Weekending and various light entertainment plays. She also voiced animated films and worked extensively in post-production dubbing for foreign language films.
In 1995, Julie returned to education, earning a postgraduate qualification in lecturing in Further and Higher Education. She went on to teach Performing Arts at Coleg Glan Hafren and at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, instructing BA Acting and Young Actors Studio students—returning to her alma mater. Julie married Martin Barclay, a university lecturer, and they have two sons, Lewis and Tommy, born in 1999 and 2003. She resumed her acting career in 2005.
Julie toured South Wales with Theatr Na'Nog, introducing secondary school students to Shakespeare. She also collaborated with local theatre companies Theatr Iolo and Theatr Y Byd, and worked as an actor and director developing new writing with the On The Edge company, produced by Michael Kelligan. In 2007, she began working in television and film alongside her theatre and teaching roles. She appeared in several productions for Black Rat Productions, including Romeo and Juliet, Boeing Boeing, Loot, and Spanish Lies for Grassroots Productions, all written and directed by Frank Vickery.
Julie honed her skills in adapting literature for the stage, notably adapting Fresh Apples, a collection of short stories by Rachel Trezise, in 2010. She also directed A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter for Be:Spoken Theatre. In 2014, she was cast in the award-winning production Maudie's Rooms, written and directed by Louise Osborn. That same year, at age 52, Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer; after six months of successful treatment, she happily returned to work.
As of 2022, Julie is developing a new play titled Shadowplay with award-winning playwright Katherine Chandler, to be performed by Julie and Richard Tunley, Artistic Director of Black Rat Productions, in association with The Other Room, Cardiff. She is also producing and appearing in a short film called Open House, directed by Claire Cage and written by Sian Hughes. Recently, she has made screen appearances for Netflix, BBC, Channel 4, ITV, and Sky. Julie is passionate about promoting inclusivity and equality for women in theatre, film, and television, investing in and producing work that challenges stereotypical portrayals of women.
