In the mid-2000s, the name Julianna Rose Mauriello was synonymous with the energetic, pink-haired character Stephanie from the popular children’s show “LazyTown.”
With her infectious enthusiasm and catchy musical numbers, Mauriello quickly became a household name, captivating the hearts of millions of young viewers worldwide.
But as the curtains closed on “LazyTown” and the years rolled on, many fans began to wonder: where did the bubbly actress disappear to?
Background Information
Born in Irvington, New York on May 26, 1991, Julianna grew up watching her siblings thrive on stage and knew she wanted to be a part of that. She attended the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City to give that acting thing a try.
Julianna spent much of her young life on stage in theater productions before snagging her first on-screen role. She also is an accomplished dancer, learning ballet, tap, jazz, and even Irish step dancing.
Acting Career
Julianna started acting at the early age of six with an uncredited appearance in an episode of Sesame Street: Fiesta! in 1997.
Midori’s Nintendoland Bakery
Julianna voiced the character ThreeJune for the first season of the animated comedy series Midori’s Nintendoland Bakery in 2003. She also went on to voice ThreeJune for the movie version of Midori’s Nintendoland Bakery: A Recipe in Time that same year.
Lazy Town
LazyTown is a tremendous success for Nick Jr. in the world of family programming. Helping kids learn about healthy life choices like eating properly and moving around, LazyTown brought life to Nick Jr.’s family lineup.
Ms. Mauriello luckily grabbed the role of Stephanie when the original actress decided to drop out. Her spunky, high-energy character Stephanie is the niece of LazyTown’s mayor, Milford Meanswell. She spends time in her new city getting everyone on board with becoming more health conscious when she notices everyone in town is pretty unhealthy.
Julianna played Stephanie for 52 episodes throughout seasons one and two of the LazyTown TV series from 2004 until 2007. She then did another 26 episodes for the LazyTown Extra series just in 2008. Wow, what a busy kid!
Why did she quit the show?
Julianna may have liked to play the good-natured Stephanie for longer, but realized she was aging out of the role. In real life, Ms. Mauriello was older than her character by a handful of years when she started.
After being Stephanie for another few years, Julianna felt it was time to step down. She left the role in 2008 after bringing Stephanie to life for four years.
Lazy Town Extra
LazyTown was such a hit that it spawned a side show, LazyTown Extra that followed Stephanie to the UK to continue her work of spreading the importance of healthy habits. In more of a comedic style show, the crew acted out funny sketches to motivate their UK friends to become more active and healthier.
Death of Stefan Karl Stefansson
When LazyTown star Stefan Karl Stefansson died in 2018, Julianna paid a tribute to him on her social media and offered these words:
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. I always will be dancing right beside you. But I know you are not alone, you have my mom and grandma. Please watch over me. I will try to stay strong.”
A Fix
Most child actors, when they are done with the goody-two-shoes role that they are most known for, make a sharp turn and take on a completely different role. Julianna did just that, and the same year she wrapped LazyTown Extra, she jumped into a more grown-up role in A Fix.
A 30-minute short dealing with teenage issues like bullying, Julianna played the leading role of Pyper.
What did she do after acting?
Julianna left the showbiz world completely in 2014. She decided the life of lights wasn’t for her and went on to graduate college and then getting her Master’s Degree after that.
Professional Performing Arts School
When Julianna still had dreams of being an actress, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan. She excelled at the school where former students like Claire Danes, Sarah Hyland, and Alicia Keys attended.
Middlebury College
Ms. Mauriello then attended Middlebury College where she graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, with minors in both French and Dance. Pretty impressive and shows her work ethic never wavers.
Columbia University
As if having a Bachelor’s with double minors wasn’t enough, Julianna went on to obtain her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy in 2018 from the prestigious Columbia University.
What is Julianna Rose Mauriello doing now?
After college, she gained experience working with children through internships at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan and Out of the Blue Enterprises in 2011.
From 2010-2013, she worked as a teaching assistant at the College Street Children’s Center. She then worked as a kindergarten teaching assistant at a public school from 2013-2015, where she assisted with lessons and supported students with special needs. Her background in education led her to become a private tutor from 2013-2015.
In 2016-2017, she completed clinical fieldwork rotations in occupational therapy at the Afya Foundation and in pediatrics at SPOTS.
This allowed her to develop skills in evaluation, treatment planning and implementation, assistive technology, and collaboration. She then completed a rotation at the Isabella Geriatric Center in 2017, gaining experience in geriatrics.
After completing her OT training, she worked as an occupational therapist at The Quad Preparatory School from 2018-2021.
Most recently, since 2021 she has worked in a pediatric OT settings. She continues to specialize in pediatrics, building on her background in education and clinical training in pediatric OT.
Relationships
Julianna has posted a few pictures over the last couple of years with a man she calls “boyfriend.” Though she doesn’t name him or tag him in her posts, the internet says his name is Calvin Fox.
Siblings
Alex Mauriello
Julianna’s sister, on the other hand, has decided that acting is a life-long journey. Starting her career with an episode on the show Unreal, older sister Alex Mauriello has been in shows like Happy Endings, The Vampire Diaries, and All Wrong.
She also helps find the best actor for the part as a Casting Assistant for Armstrong Casting in Los Angeles.
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