Early life
Blum grew up in Beverly Hills, California. Her mother, Cynthia, is an elementary school teacher, while her father, Frederick, is an insurance executive. During Julia's childhood, the family attended a Conservative synagogue and celebrated the major Jewish holidays, and Julia received a bat mitzvah. [2] [3]
The young Blum took piano and ballet lessons from an early age and began acting and singing professionally at age 12, appearing in commercials and studying under noted voice coach Seth Riggs. [2] [3] She attended Beverly Hills High School, where she won the lead role in virtually every theatre production and performed alongside future successes such as David Schwimmer. [2]
After excelling in high school, Blum was accepted to multiple Ivy League universities, including Princeton, Harvard, and Brown, ultimately studying music, theater, and film at Harvard and Yale. [2] At Yale, she frequently performed leading roles in major productions with the Yale Dramat, the Yale Repertory Theatre, and the Yale School of Drama — an unusual distinction for an undergraduate. [2]
Turn to Orthodoxy and career in Jewish music
After graduating Cum Laude with Distinction from Yale in 1988, Blum traveled abroad to Europe, Greece, and Israel. In the latter country, Blum, curious about her heritage, studied at an Orthodox women's yeshiva in Jerusalem, where she read biblical Hebrew texts, visited religious families, and kept Shabbat. The experience endeared her to Orthodoxy and inspired her to become a baalat teshuva . [2]
Upon returning to the United States, Blum began writing and performing original music inspired by her newfound faith. She has released two albums, Stand Tall (1990) and Songs of the Heart (1998).
