Trivia

In 1998, won two Tony Awards for "The Lion King": Best Director (Musical) and Best Costume Designer. She was also among the "Lion King" composers and lyricists nominated that year for Best Original Musical Score. The year before, in 1997, she had received two Tony nominations for "Juan Darien": as Best Director (Musical) and, along with collaborator G.W. Mercier, as Best Scenic Designer.

She cites Akira Kurosawa as an influence and inspiration.

Was ousted as director of Broadway musical, "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark", in 2011. Lawsuits were filed by both sides and a royalties agreement was reached in February 2012.

Graduated from Oberlin College, Ohio.

Won two Tony awards (Direction & Costume Design) in 1998 for the Broadway production of "The Lion King."

She was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 (1999 season) for Best Director for "The Lion King" at the Lyceum Theatre.

She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 2000 (1999 season) for Best Costume Designer for "The Lion King" at the Lyceum Theatre.

Studied mime in Paris.

While living & studying puppetry in Indonesia she established her own group Teatr Loh.

Learned Japanese Bunraku in which the puppeteer is in full view of the audience.

She was awarded the 1999 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Theatrical Event of the Year for the Lion King performed at the Lyceum in London, England.

Joined the Boston's Children Theater when she was 10.

She is at the Metropolitan opera where she is directing and designing the puppets for Mozart's "The Magic Flute.' (October 2004)

New York City, Directing the Broadway Musical "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark." (November 2010)

She and Richard Hudson was awarded the 1999 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama) for Best Designer for "The Lion King" performed at the Lyceum Theatre.

She has directed one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Frida (2002).

Her niece, Danya Taymor, appeared in Across the Universe (2007). Danya found additional success as a Broadway director, winning the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2024 for "The Outsiders". Julie was the first woman to win the Tony in the same category in 1998, for "The Lion King".