80s action movie star unrecognizable as rarely seen actress is spotted in LA – can you guess who she is?
She shot to fame as a stunning agent in a hit action movie.
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Starring opposite Sylvester Stallone, this stunning actress made her Hollywood debut in Rambo: First Blood Part II.
She studied at the University of Hawaii, and went on to become a model before finding fame in the movie industry.
Have you guessed who she is?
You've got it, it's Julia Nickson, who is now 66 years of age.
Running errands in Los Angeles earlier this month, Julia looked unrecognizable from her movie heyday.
40 years after the Rambo movie in which she starred came out, Julia was seen rocking an all-black look as she walked along the sidewalk.
She rocked a black long-sleeved T-shirt, some black trousers, a pair of black sneakers, and a black baseball cap.
She completed her look with a tote bag on her shoulder.
At one point, Julia took off her baseball cap to reveal her gray locks that were seen dappled throughout her jet black hair.
When Julia took on the role of Agent Co Phuong Bao, the female lead in Rambo: First Blood II, she gained ultimate prominence.
Dyan Cannon: From 70s Movie Icon to Timeless Star at 88
She went on to star alongside Chuck Norris in Sidekicks, before appearing in Amityville: A New Generation, Devil in the Flesh, and Ethan Mao.
She reunited with Chuck when she took on a recurring role in Walker, Texas Ranger.
She played Dr. Susan Lee in the hit TV series.
Julia also popped up in another miniseries, Around The World in 80 Days, starring as Princess Aouda possible Pierce Brosnan and Eric Idle.
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The Singapore star was married to fellow actor David Soul.
Married from 1987 until 1993, the couple welcomed one daughter, China Soul, who followed in her famous parents' footsteps.
Julia was a practising Scientologist and joined the Church of Scientology in 1996.
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In treatment, Stoner experienced a consistent routine for the first time, 'and also adults who weren't on my payroll. I think treatment started pulling at threads.' After nearly three months of rehab, Stoner went back to Hollywood, although they had begun to look for a life beyond it. By their mid-20s, Stoner had a YouTube channel, had started studying mental health and was making music. They came out as queer in a piece for Teen Vogue in 2018 which, they say, caused them to lose the job on a children's show they were in. Stoner would later start a podcast, Dear Hollywood, in which they explored the life of child stars. In one episode, they spoke powerfully about a rape they had experienced in their 20s. It wasn't that anything like that had happened during Stoner's years as a child actor, but they say that 'something felt indescribably familiar about it'. It made them reassess the situations they had been put in as a child, and the sense that their body was not their own, whether it was crew members reaching under their clothes to attach a microphone, or executives commenting on the way their adolescent body was developing. Stoner was already in therapy at the time, so they point out they had support after the sexual assault. 'I don't know if I had ever connected to that feeling [of what 'no' felt like] growing up, even though there were many cases where I could have and should have said no to what was happening.' Stoner is also at a point where they think they may as well use their platform in a beneficial way, and especially, they say 'to speak up on behalf of other survivors. To also – what's the word? – I don't want to say objectify myself, but continue allowing this commodified version of myself to exist to hopefully accomplish social change. It's a strange position. Almost all the time, I crave anonymity.' They work as a mental health coordinator on sets and have developed a toolkit for young performers. In the same way that intimacy coordinators have become industry standard for sex and nudity on set, Stoner would like to see the mental health of actors, and particularly child actors, given as much care. They hope that there will be change, 'not just for kids in Hollywood, but also kids online'. Stoner still works as an actor, including voice acting for the Disney show Phineas and Ferb. They did worry that their book, and being so critical of the industry, would affect their work. 'I've been testing out different scenarios, depending on how this unfolds, so that I can at least have my basic needs met, in case this disrupts contracts.' Having been rich, and then not, how have they come to view society's idea – pushed by Hollywood itself – of success and the importance we place on fame and money? 'I got to see the folly of the illusion much sooner,' says Stoner. 'By the time I was 18 and others were just looking for their first jobs, I had already tasted the promised flavours of success and status, and I found them to be quite unsavoury.' Having missed out on a normal childhood, Stoner has built a life. Therapy and finding a purpose, particularly in their mental health work, has helped them to work out who they are and what they want. Writing the book brought them closer to their father, and uncovered a different story from the one they had grown up with. They had been estranged for 15 years by that point, but in getting back in touch, they discovered their father had fought for years for custody and contact. 'I think those sections [of the book] feel the most emotionally potent and unresolved,' says Stoner. Their relationship with their mother is, says Stoner, 'a very delicate matter' they don't wish to go into. In writing, Stoner has been able to make more sense of their place beyond being the little girl in a Missy Elliott video, or a teen Disney star. 'It's brought a certain kind of freedom from my past.' Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything: A Memoir by Alyson Stoner is published by Pan Macmillan (£22)
