Though Julia was born in Italy, she and one of her brothers were raised in NYC by her eccentric father, while her mom and her other brother remained in Italy. "My dad is American. He's, like, a seventh generation New Yorker. He's out of his mind. I pretty much grew up with him," she told High Snob Society. "He still lives here, but he's not really around. He's like a mad scientist recluse. He builds 3D printers for fun."
Because her father was often busy with his own projects, Julia was given plenty of freedom to explore the city on her own. "I grew up Uptown, mostly," she continued. "We moved around a lot. It was kind of unstable. We were homeless at one point. I actually have lived in almost every single neighbourhood — Harlem, Chelsea, everywhere. I moved downtown when I was 17 and I haven't left."