Julia Stiles’ current favorite music artist would definitely have Kat Stratford dancing on top of a table.
“I know that I am a little behind the times, I’m a little late to the party, but I cannot get Chappell Roan out of my head,” Stiles, 43, exclusively shares in the latest issue of Us Weekly. “And I know that was, like, the album came out a year ago. She broke [out] a year ago, but it’s such a nice party to join.”
Roan, 26, has become one of the music industry’s hottest stars since the release of her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. She earned a total of six 2025 Grammy nominations for her work — including Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year — and took home the award for Best New Artist at this year’s ceremony on Sunday, February 2.
Roan performed her hit song “Pink Pony Club” during the awards show, which also happens to be one of Stiles’ favorite tracks. “First it was ‘HOT TO GO!,’ and I know the dance, and then it was ‘Pink Pony Club,’” she tells Us. “It will not leave my brain. I think she’s amazing.”
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While pink ponies may be taking over Stiles’ music playlist, the adorable blue cartoon dog Bluey is frequently playing on her TV. “The show I’m watching the most is Bluey,” Stiles reveals.
As a mother of three, Stiles tells Us that she finds the character of Mum (voiced by Melanie Zanetti) on the Australian children’s series “very relatable.” She adds, “I like the dad [David McCormack], too. The dad’s pretty fun. Dad’s been fun. Dads always get to be fun.” (Stiles shares her three kids with her husband, Preston Cook.)
Between parenting, acting and making her feature directorial debut with the new movie Wish You Were Here, Stiles is dreaming of a relaxing getaway. “I love a good beach. I’m a beach and saltwater [and] sunshine girl,” she shares. “I filmed a TV show for a few years in France and a little bit in Italy and it’s such a wonderful place. I’d love to go back. But a Costa Rica beach is for sure a happy place.”
Every beach vacation needs the perfect beach read, and Stiles has several current book favorites. “Nightbitch because they turned it into a great movie,” she tells Us. “The Pro, I’m in the middle of and it’s such a good book. I’m enjoying it. … All Fours is amazing.”
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She continues: “I read Desperately Seeking Something, which is Susan Seidelman’s memoir because that movie, Desperately Seeking Susan, which put her on the map, was seminal in my childhood.”
Stiles notes that Desperately Seeking Susan also served as a “reference” while making her new movie Wish You Were Here “in terms of colors and [the] design of the film.”
Wish You Were Here, which hit theaters last month, stars Isabelle Fuhrman as Charlotte, a woman whose romantic connection with Mena Massoud’s Adam grows deeper upon discovering he is terminally ill. Julia’s sister Jane Stiles also appears in the film alongside Kelsey Grammer and Jennifer Grey.
Not only did Julia’s acting career lend itself to directing her first movie but also her role as a parent. “Being a mother is such good training for being a director. You have to be good at time management; you have to be a multitasker,” she explains. “You have to be present but also think 10 steps ahead. You have to be able to operate really well with sleep deprivation and manage people’s emotions and needs but also guide them. [It] a hundred percent is the best training.”
With reporting by Travis Cronin
