Julia Stiles' career was on fire in the late '90s and early aughts after teen movie 10 Things I Hate About You catapulted her into stardom. But then she took a hiatus from Hollywood to pursue a college degree. So what is there to know about her? This is the untold truth of Julia Stiles.

Before Julia Stiles landed a breakthrough role, the young actress was trying to make a name for herself in Hollywood. As a pre-teen, she landed small roles in shows like Ghostwriter, and she even scored her first big-screen role in I Love You, I Love You Not before starring as Harrison Ford's daughter in The Devil's Own. According to The Telegraph, Stiles lost the role of Claudia in Interview with the Vampire to Kirsten Dunst in 1994 but would beat out several actresses for the part of Kat in 10 Things I Hate About You in 1999. Stiles was relatively new to Hollywood and she was presumably up against actresses like Kate Hudson and Katie Holmes.

Stiles was drawn to the part because Kat was so different than the other heroines in popular teen comedies. She told InStyle in September 2019:

"The reason that I wanted that part so badly was because I thought it was so refreshing, seeing a teenage girl be feisty and opinionated and be a fish out of water, but proudly [so]."

The strong chemistry between Stiles and her on-screen love interest, Heath Ledger, also helped her land the part. Keep watching the video to see that here's the truth about Julia Stiles you probably don't know.

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A teen movie favorite | 0:00

A love of Shakespeare | 1:23

A cringeworthy performance | 2:20

Leaving Hollywood | 3:11

TV roles | 4:04

Online shaming | 4:49

Hustlers | 5:43

Grateful for her '90s fame | 6:51

Future acting opportunities | 8:09

Open to sequels | 8:48

Learning how to speak up | 9:36