Julianna Rose Mauriello, a talented individual, was born on a glorious spring morning, May 26, 1991, in Irvington, New York. Her earliest memories of performing date back to her childhood, when she appeared as a child in Party Scene of The Nutcracker at SUNY Purchase, sleepily lying under the Christmas tree.
As she grew older, her fascination with performing only intensified, as she watched her siblings and brother participate in Pleasantville High School's musical theater productions. She soon joined them on stage as one of the Snow children in a performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. This experience further solidified her passion for the stage, leading her to spend a summer at French Woods Performing Arts Festival, where she was introduced to prominent theatrical agent, Nancy Carson, and landed her first professional role as Li'l Titch in the 2002 revival of another Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, Oklahoma!.
To be closer to her work, Julianna and her family relocated to Manhattan. She began attending Professional Performing Arts School, where she is currently an honor student. Following her first professional stage experience, she went on to appear in Gypsy: A Musical Fable with Bernadette Peters, understudying several roles including Baby June, and New York City Center Encores!, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In addition to her stage work, she made commercials and specialty films, working for notable brands such as Volvo, Wendy's, AstraZeneca (Nexium),and Disney Entertainment.
In a surprising turn of events, the original girl cast to star in a new Nickelodeon TV show declined to continue with the project. As a result, her agent put Julianna up for the role of 'Stephanie' in LazyTown, a fresh, funny show blending music, movement, and healthful messages for young children, now a mainstay of Nick Jr.'s pre-school programming. The show's creator, Icelander Magnus Scheving, selected Julianna for her unique mix of talent and energy as an ideal nucleus for the show's positive messages.
In connection with her work on LazyTown, Ms. Mauriello relocated to Iceland to shoot episodes for three seasons, learning Icelandic in the process; appeared as a presenter on Iceland's Edda Awards; and has made live and/or broadcast appearances in 70 countries on 5 continents.
In 2006, she was selected by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences as a nominee for its Daytime Emmy Award, "Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series". The world continues to reward LazyTown's upbeat message with many accolades and awards, the most recent being a nomination in the 'International' category by the British Academy of Film & Television Arts for its upcoming 2006 Children's' BAFTA.
