Julia Stiles’ new show Blue premiers tonight, but we’ve never fallen out of love with the multi-talented actor-writer-director.

1. Julia Stiles *was* Kat Stratford

We fell in love with Julia Stiles as the black underwear-wearing, non-dating Kat Stratford opposite Heath Ledger’s Patrick Verona in this remake of Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew. Julia’s role in the 1999 film spurred viewers on to try out The Bell Jar and indie rock, question conformity, and read at least one poem, even if it was made for the film…

“I hate it when you’re not around and the fact that you didn’t call,
but mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.”

2. For opting to go to university while her career was taking off

Julia Stiles arrives at the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards
(John Shearer/Invision/PA)

She earned a degree in English from New York’s Columbia University and calls herself a nerd.

3. She cropped up in Dexter, before it got weird

Michael C. Hall as Dexter and Julia Stiles as Lumen
(Randy Tepper/Landov/PA)

While the jury ruled against the very odd ending to Dexter, Julia turned up in Dexter as Lumen Pierce in series 5 to rave reviews when the show still had us on a knife edge. Critics liked her performance too – she was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for best supporting actress.

4. She loves her creative fans

Julia Stiles
(Brian Zak/PHOTOlink/allactiondigital.com)

There’s a Tumblr post dedicated to her called JuliaStilesOnThings, which shows Julia clinging to things, be it the Spice Girls, the dog from Honey I Shrunk The Kids, or Justin Bieber.

“I love that,” she told Conan O’Brien when he showed her some of the images during an interview.

5. For Save The Last Dance

Ballet dancer Sara gets schooled in street smarts by Sean Patrick Thomas’ Derek after moving to Chicago when her mum dies. As Derek shows her how to add passion to her moves, she preps for a tough dance audition, but what really won us over was Julia doing all her own dancing.

Bonus win: Derek’s sister Chenille is none other than Olivia Pope herself, Kerry Washington. Please tell us they are actual friends.

6. For continuing to embrace theatre

Actors Julia Stiles and Aaron Eckhart during Oleanna
(Myung Jung Kim/PA)

She’s performed in the West End and on Broadway. In 2004 she took up in London opposite Aaron Eckhart in the two-person play Oleanna. She reprised the role five years later in New York and there’s been a host of stage performances since, including in Phoenix last summer about a one-night stand.

7. For taking a nuanced approach to feminism

Julia Roberts and Julia Stiles
Julia Stiles with Mona Lisa Smile co-star Julia Roberts (ABACA USA/Empics Entertainment)

She wrote a brilliant piece for The Guardian while in London for Oleanna and not long after the release of Mona Lisa Smile, which was set in the 1950s. In the film she plays Joan, a brilliant student who opts for married life not a career.

“The ultimate message of Mona Lisa Smile may have been concerned with what we now refer to as “having it all”, but it was necessary that characters such as Joan should remain content within their limits.

“Otherwise, to show a group of young women in the 1950s so quickly ascribing to a modern sense of empowerment would be historically inaccurate. Critics of such movies have to watch them in the context of the gradual progression of the women’s movement.”

8. She went from vegan to carnivore in the best possible way

Julia Stiles
(Amy Sussman/Invision/PA)

Everyone’s entitled to their choice about vegetarianism and veganism. Julia opted to switch from being a vegan to a meat-eater once again. Asked about the first bite of her first cheeseburger she replied “the word orgasm springs to mind”. Although she later said it was a joke, what’s not to love.

9. She managed to look fun in this music video

Cyndi Lauper’s Sally’s Pigeons is an odd song but a young Julia, playing a young Cyndi, is clearly having fun, throwing a football around as Cyndi sings about those pigeons, washing being put out and erm, a back-street abortion. “We had our dreams, and challenged fate, in tears she told me she was late.”

10. Because all that Bourne touches is gold…

U.S. actor Matt Damon, Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez and U.S. actor Julia Stiles
(Markus Schreiber/AP)

As CIA agent Nicky Parsons, Julia’s role in the Matt Damon spy trilogy got bigger and bigger. By the time The Bourne Ultimatum came around she was definitely on team Jason Bourne, and because us viewers are too we can’t help but like her. Remember it’s Parsons’ grin we see at the end of the film when the news report is explaining that there’s been no sign of Bourne’s body in the East River.

11. She wants to be in another Bourne film

Matt and director Paul Greengrass recently announced they were returning to the franchise, and Julia is hoping to hear from them very soon.

She said: “They’re writing it now. So I’m hoping my character fits into the storyline somehow.” Yep, so are we.

12. For being a writer and director as well as an actor

Blue, the show which airs tonight on Lifetime, actually started out on the web. Julia has embraced Wigs, the YouTube channel which does scripted dramas and features with female leads. That’s also where she turned to showcase Paloma, her own five-part series.

13. For seeming so like us, while having a super-cool job