Julia also had roles in the films Hati Bukan Kristal, Driving School, and Suci Dalam Debu.

She is the daughter of Abdul Rais Yeop, a Malaysian businessman and former board member of Sri Jaya Vehicles, from his second marriage to a British wife.

She is also a cousin of the politician Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz and a step-cousin of award-winning actress Juliana Ibrahim.

Julia began acting and modelling in the late 1980s in television commercials for Procter & Gamble and Rejoice Shampoo.

She played Nina, a journalist, in the film Hati Bukan Kristal and was the lead role in the comedy Driving School.

[1] Upon her marriage she was bestowed the honorific prefix of Che Puan (equivalent to the English "Lady") as a Sultan's consort that was non-royal blood.