Juliette Lewis was born in Los Angeles, California to Geoffrey Lewis, an actor, and Glenis Duggan Batley, a graphic designer. She has four siblings – brothers Lightfield and Peter, and sisters Deirdre and Brandy.
She appeared in The Wonder Years as Wayne's girlfriend in Episodes 24, 34 and 36. Lewis first garnered international attention and acclaim in 1991 with her turn as Danielle Bowden in Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1991.
Over the next few years, she won further critical support in Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives," Peter Medak's Romeo Is Bleeding, and opposite Brad Pitt in Kalifornia. In 1993, she acted alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp in the drama film What's Eating Gilbert Grape. She played Mallory Knox in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. She played a rock singer in the film Strange Days, doing her own singing on covers of two songs written by PJ Harvey, revealing her musical ability.
She received an Emmy nomination for her performance in Hysterical Blindness in 2003. She also appeared in the HIM music video for "Buried Alive By Love" in 2003.
Lewis appeared in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV, providing the voice of "Juliette," the host of fictional radio station "Radio Broker." She starred in the video for the Melissa Etheridge song "Come To My Window," and has also appeared in a GAP commercial in which she was dancing with Daft Punk to the tune of the song "Digital Love." She also hosted the UK pop quiz show "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" in 2010.
Lewis launched a career as a solo singer and musician, leading American rock band Juliette and the Licks until 2009. After splitting with the Licks, she has formed a new band The New Romantiques, with whom she has recorded an album entitled Terra Incognita.
Lewis features on the track "Bad Brother" by the band The Infidels, from The Crow: Salvation Soundtrack album, which was released on April 2000. She is working with rock songwriter Linda Perry, among others. Lewis has also appeared on three tracks by Electronic Music group The Prodigy's 2004 CD Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned ("Spitfire", "Get Up Get Off", and "Hot Ride"). In 2006, Blender magazine included her in their hottest women of rock music list while saying, " she delivered sonically varnished melodic punk replete with purring vocals and lyrics that bash porn, pharmaceutical companies and rotten lovers. (in no particular order)".
Lewis says of her acting and music, "I was always using music in my acting to prepare for roles. To me, cinema and music go hand in hand. Now I’m just giving attention to the other side of my art.”
In 2009, Juliette played at Przystanek Woodstock in Poland.
