Julie Marie Hassett

Former criminal prosecutor and victims’ rights advocate, Julie Marie Hassett is an actress, writer, creative producer, the founder of the nonprofit Foundation of Joy and indie film company Red Love Film. She graduated from The Ohio State University, Capital University Law School, study abroad program in International Law at Cambridge, currently participating in acting sessions at Juilliard (non degree), and trained at The Beverly Hills Playhouse. Driven by a love for theater, film, law, and literature, Julie moved from courtroom storytelling to Chicago theater stages at night, and then to Los Angeles and New York. Her performance credits include PLAY DEAD (directed by Teller at the Geffen Playhouse), PASSPORT (Slamdance Premiere), and the award-winning comedy series (currently in development) TempaKILL (Best Actress). She also directed and performed in THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse, raising thousands to end violence against women. Her writing projects include THE KILLER NEXT DOOR (a feature thriller adaptation of the best-selling UK novel in active development), an untitled procedural crime series in development, THE JOY DIVISION (WWII feature), THE TRENCH POET (limited series w/ talent attached), UNTITLED PUCCINI'S TRIAL (legal thriller in workshop), THE CYRANO EXPERIMENT (rom-com for film and stage), and JOY (second cut in post-production). For the stage, she wrote Salesgirl: Five Vignettes on the Working Girl. She created TempaKILL, which earned multiple festival awards, including Best Comedy, Best Ensemble, and Best Actress. Julie is also a partner at Merry Berry LLC, focusing on Holiday films. Julie co-founded Red Love Film with her sister, Elizabeth Joy, building a model that merges cinema, theater, art, and philanthropy. After Elizabeth’s untimely death during pregnancy, Julie transformed the company’s philanthropic arm into the public charity Foundation of Joy, which creates art to raise awareness and funding for issues affecting children. FOJ partners with leading artists and nonprofits to address the issues kids face: hunger, homelessness, mental health, education, gender and racial equality, climate change, and foster care. Through Foundation of Joy, Julie is currently producing The Grace Project, an anthology exploring child wellness, community needs, and an ecosystem of service. Her lifelong commitment to advocacy and education includes work with Children of the Night, OPCC Women’s Shelter in Santa Monica, private investigative work in Los Angeles and Chicago, and two terms as an adjunct psychology professor at Harold Washington College in Chicago.