Julie Vega was born as Julie Pearl Apostol Postigo on 21 May 1968 at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERRMMC) in Quezon City, Philippines[4] to a practicing Roman Catholic family[5] and was the youngest and only daughter of six children of dentists Julio Postigo (1931–1991) from Zamboanga del Sur and Perla Apostol (1932–2023)[3] from Iligan City.

Vega was discovered by film and stage director Lamberto Avellana and actress Boots Anson-Roa in 1975 while performing at a Christmas party at the Quezon Institute where her mother then worked, thus starting her career the following year at the age of six as a commercial model in television for Purefoods and Band-Aid.

She first used the screen name Darling Postigo and appeared in her first film entitled Ang Pag-ibig Ko’y Huwag Mong Sukatin[6] as the young daughter of the characters played by Anson-Roa and Dante Rivero.

Her portrayal of the sensitive, sad-sack and frequently oppressed title character drew the sympathy and affections of the Filipino viewing public and further solidified her star status.

With the training she received, she was able to sing many of the theme songs of the movies she appeared in like Dear Mama, Where Love Has Gone, Don't Cry for Me Papa and Iiyak Ka Rin.

The single's success prompted Bong Carreon and Imelda Papin to launch Vega as a full-time solo artist by coming up with the latter's 1985 debut album First Love, which included Somewhere in My Past and produced her further hit songs like Someone Special, The Memory Will Remain, and the eponymous title track itself.

[12] As Vega's condition became worse, her parents were forced to have her confined to the Quezon Institute as they could no longer afford the increasing amount of her hospital bills.

[5] Vega was transferred to the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City at about 5:00 p.m. PHT on Monday, May 6, 1985, where she died suddenly around 1½ hours later at the hospital's intensive care unit, just fifteen days shy of her seventeenth birthday.

After lying in state at Mount Carmel Parish in Quezon City, her body was laid to rest right next to those of her father, mother, 3 brothers and paternal grandmother at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina[13] in a funeral attended by millions of grieving fans and colleagues from Philippine showbiz.

She was supposed to promote her debut album First Love,[5] do a second album for Emerald containing all Filipino language songs, perform with Imelda Papin in singing engagements both in the Philippines and abroad,[8] start hosting two television shows (her own, Julie and Friends on Maharlika Broadcasting System, and as alternate host of Student Canteen on GMA[15]), and star as one of the mainstays of the then upcoming teen-oriented talent show That's Entertainment on GMA.

[16] On television, she was portrayed by Angelica Panganiban and Jane Oineza on the October 2, 2003 episode of Maalaala Mo Kaya entitled Unan (Tagalog for Pillow).

Director Ruel Bayani, the producer of ABS-CBN's remake of Anna Liza, commended Vega, calling her portrayal of the role "iconic" and that she set a high standard on being a "child star".