We featured the actress, singer, surfer in the mag last year after she became the new Quicksilver Women ambassador

Interview by Posy Dixon, photo by Quiksilver Women

I was born in Paris in 1982, and a year later my mum, dad, sister and I flew to Tahiti where we stayed for two years. We returned to Normandy one divorce later without my dad, and then moved to Paris when I was 15. I had the best chilhood thanks to my mum. She gave me confidence and always trusted and believed in me.

I enjoyed sports when I was young as I liked to perform and enjoyed competing and the values it taught me. I practiced dance and gymnastics for eight years, and then when I was 16 I discovered skateboarding. I got hooked to the freedom, I loved the fact that I didn’t need to go to a class to learn, that I could just skate with a bunch of guys in the street. No rules, no complaints, no girlie stuff, I discovered the lifestyle which would for me, become a way of life.

When I was 12 I started singing classes and went on stage for the first time, and I can still remember how it felt, so intense. At the time I didn’t know that it could be a career for me but I knew I wanted to go back on stage again. I started doing castings for musicals, and then when I was 13 I won a part in a TV series. It was my first experience acting and it was incredible, I spent three months in a castel with eight others my age and it felt like a holiday. I found the work so natural and easy with no stress or pressure, it was like I was made for it. I didn’t realise at that time how lucky i was, acting came to me so naturally, and it has never stopped being that way.

I never sperate music and acting as it’s thanks to music that I became an actress in the first place. Music has always been my favourite way to express myself and to discover feelings. It’s through music I learn about happiness, freedom, sadness and loneliness, and it’s that which enables me to act.

I discovered surfing thanks to a romantic encounter, my boyfriend took me to Bali and I rode my first wave at Lembogan island. After days of floating around amid the currents wondering if this was all bullshit, I finally stood up and instantly forgot how hard it was. From that moment I knew I would never stop surfing. After years of walking the streets of Europe with my skateboard, I was discovering the world through surf and the beauty of nature.

Nowadays most of my trips are for surfing and the best place for me is Capbreton, in the south of France. The surf is amazing – the light, the trees, the weather, I just love it. Surfing there has allowed me learn so much about reading the ocean, knowing where I can and cannot surf safely.

My boyfriend entered me into a contest to become a Quicksilver Ambassador. He introduced me to surfing and Hossegor, and to him it seemed obvious that I should be involved with the brand. And I guess he was right, Quicksilver suit me perfectly, representing sports, music and arts, the spirit of both the city and the ocean. I really dicovered a family in Quiksilver Woman, they believe in their ambassadors and really want to contribute to our success.

I try to travel for two months a year to surf. I need it, I cant stay in town all year long as I miss the nature of the ocean so much, and I need it to be creative. But I also love Paris, the culture, the beauty of the architecture, the night life, and my friends, so I will never get rid of it. I hope that combining both will give me balance in life.

In thirty years time I’d love to be with husband and kids, travelling between my surf camp in Nicaragua, Paris for acting work and London and New york for music. That would be the dream combination for me.

Listen to Julie’s music at myspace.com/julieboulanger