Julia Kostenevich Profile

Julia was born in Moscow, Russia to a family of Russian, Jewish, Armenian and Polish descent. At the age of 13, guided by a family friend, she took her first acting classes at the oldest and largest theatre school in Russia, GITIS. After graduating the high school, Julia spent one year to prepare herself for the major audition -- the entrance exam to the most prestigious Russian drama school. During her preparation, she worked on classical repertoire by Shakespeare, Chekhov and Pushkin. After a long exhausting auditioning process, beating 350 other contestants, Julia was finally accepted to the M.S. Shepkin Higher Theatre Institute. Associated with the State Maly Theatre in Moscow, it is one of the oldest drama schools in the world. During her student years, Julia became frequent on Russian Television as a Guest star in various productions.