Julia Phillips
First woman to win Best Picture Oscar as producer.
Julia Phillips (born Julia Miller, April 7, 1944 – January 1, 2002) was an American film producer and author. She was part of the producing team behind three major 1970s films—*The Sting*, *Taxi Driver*, and *Close Encounters of the Third Kind*—and became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Picture as a producer, for *The Sting*. In 1991, she released a controversial tell-all memoir, *You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again*, which became a bestseller.
Phillips grew up in New York City, Brooklyn, Great Neck, and Milwaukee, the daughter of a chemical engineer who worked on the Manhattan Project and a writer mother who struggled with prescription drug addiction. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Mount Holyoke College in 1965, married Michael Phillips the following year, and worked as a book section editor at *Ladies' Home Journal* and later as a story editor at Paramount Pictures. In 1971, she and her husband moved to California to produce *Steelyard Blues*.
In 1972, Phillips, her husband, and producer Tony Bill hired David S. Ward to write the screenplay for *The Sting* for $3,500. The film won the Best Picture Oscar in 1974, making Phillips the first woman to receive that award as a producer. *Taxi Driver*, produced by the couple, was nominated for Best Picture after winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1976. *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* was her third major film, also produced with her husband. During its production, actor François Truffaut publicly called Phillips incompetent; she countered that she had helped him through difficulties including hearing loss and illness. Phillips was a heavy cocaine user, a habit she detailed in her memoir, and was fired from *Close Encounters* during post-production due to the effects of her addiction. Her drug use, spending, and relationships caused further problems in the years that followed.
Decades later, *The Sting* was inducted into the Producers Guild of America’s Hall of Fame, and *Taxi Driver* was ranked the 52nd-greatest American film by the American Film Institute in 2007. That same year, *Close Encounters* was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry.
Phillips’s 1991 memoir topped the *New York Times* bestseller list but angered many former colleagues with its revelations about Hollywood’s drug culture and casting practices.
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Julia Miller
- Birth Date
- 1944-04-07
- Birth Place
- New York City, U.S.
- Death Date
- 2002-01-01
- Death Place
- West Hollywood, California, U.S.
- Occupation
- Film producer, author
- Spouse
- Michael Phillips (1966–1974)
- Children
- 1
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Julia Miller was born on April 7, 1944 to a Polish-Jewish family in New York City, the daughter of Tanya and Adolph Miller. Her father was a chemical engineer who worked on the Manhattan Project; her mother was a writer who became addicted to prescription drugs. She grew up in Brooklyn; Great Neck, New York; and Milwaukee. In 1965, she received a bachelor's degree in political science from Mount Holyoke College, and in 1966, she married Michael Phillips. After school, she worked as book section editor at the Ladies' Home Journal and then as a story editor for Paramount Pictures. In 1971, she and her husband moved to California to produce Steelyard Blues with Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, released in 1973.
In 1972, Phillips along with her husband Michael Phillips and producer Tony Bill commissioned David S. Ward to write the screenplay for The Sting, for $3,500. In 1973, The Sting won the Academy Award for Best Picture and made Phillips the first woman to win an Oscar as a producer. In 1977, Taxi Driver, produced by the Phillipses, was nominated for Best Picture after winning the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, her third major film, was produced with Michael Phillips. François Truffaut publicly criticized Phillips as incompetent, a charge she rejected. Phillips was also a notorious drug user (cocaine especially), which she chronicled in detail in her memoirs. The side-effects of cocaine addiction caused her to be fired from Close Encounters of the Third Kind during post-production.
In 1991, Phillips published You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again about her experiences in Hollywood. The book topped the New York Times bestseller list, but its revelations drew ire from many former colleagues. Her follow-up book, Driving Under the Affluence, was released in 1995. In 2000, she helped Matt Drudge write his Drudge Manifesto. Phillips died from cancer at her home in West Hollywood, California, on January 1, 2002, at the age of 57, and was interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Reader's Guide
Julia Phillips's significance lies in her pioneering role as the first female producer to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, a milestone achieved with The Sting in 1973. Her career, though brief, produced three landmark films of the 1970s that remain culturally and critically acclaimed: The Sting, Taxi Driver, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Twenty-five years after its Oscar success, The Sting was inducted into the Producers Guild of America's Hall of Fame. In June 2007, Taxi Driver was ranked as the 52nd-best American feature film of all time by the American Film Institute. In December 2007, Close Encounters was deemed 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant' by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Her 1991 memoir, You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, became a bestseller and is infamous for its candid, often unflattering portrayal of Hollywood's drug culture and power dynamics, cementing her legacy as both a trailblazer and a controversial figure. Her later life was marked by drug abuse and financial struggles, and she died of cancer at age 57.
Did You Know?
- Julia Phillips was the first female producer to win an Academy Award for Best Picture, for The Sting in 1973.
- She co-produced Taxi Driver, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Picture.
- Phillips was fired from Close Encounters of the Third Kind during post-production due to side-effects of cocaine addiction.
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