Julie Halston (born December 7, 1954) is an Americanactress andcomedian who appeared on television, film, and theatre. She received fourDrama Desk Award nominations for her Broadway performances, and in 2020 was awarded theIsabelle Stevenson Award at the74th Tony Awards.^[1] On television, Halston is best known for playing socialite Bitsy von Muffling in the HBO comedy series,Sex and The City, itsfilm continuation, and the sequel series,And Just Like That....^[2]

Julie Halston
Born	Julie Abatelli (1954-12-07)December 7, 1954 (age 70) Flushing, Queens,New York, U.S.
Education	Hofstra University (BA)
Occupation(s)	Actress, comedian
Years active	1984–present
Spouse	Ralph Howard ​ ​ (m. 1992; died 2018)​

Julie Halston was born inFlushing, Queens. Her parents, Rudolph "Rudy" Abatelli and Julia Madeline "Dolly" (née Gardner) moved toCommack, Long Island, when Halston was four years old.^[3] After attending a Catholic high school, she graduated fromHofstra University,cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre arts.^[4]

Halston first achieved recognition as an actress through her co-starring performances in the comedy plays of writer-performer,Charles Busch in the 1980s in New York City.^[5] She was a founding member of his theatre company, Theatre-in-Limbo, which along with other writers and performers such asCharles Ludlam,Lypsinka,Ann Magnuson, andJohn Fleck, to name a few, were part of a cultural movement that helped revitalize the Off-Broadway theatre.^[6] Busch considered Halston his muse and wrote many roles for her in his plays includingVampire Lesbians of Sodom (1984),The Lady in Question (1989),Red Scare on Sunset (1991),You Should be so Lucky (1994),The Divine Sister (2011), andThe Tribute Artist (2013).^[7]

She wrote a series of one-woman comedy shows that eventually led to a successful Off-Broadway production entitledJulie Halston's Lifetime of Comedy (1992).^[8] The show earned her anOuter Critics Circle nomination for Best Play and landed Halston aCBS network development deal.^[9] The pilot was calledThose Two and co-starredHarvey Fierstein. It was written by Bob Randall, the co-producer ofKate and Allie.^[10] The show was not developed into a series and Halston returned to the stage and subsequently appeared in many Off-Broadway and Broadway shows includingThe Man Who Came to Dinner (2000),The Women (2001),Hairspray (2002),Gypsy (2003),Twentieth Century (2004),Anything Goes (2012-replacement),You Can't Take it with You (2014),On The Town (2015), andTootsie (2019).^[11]

Halston receivedDrama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play forRed Scare on Sunset (1991),White Chocolate (2004),The Divine Sister (2011), andYou Can't Take it With You (2014). In addition she received the Richard Seff Award for her portrayal of Gay Wellington inYou Can't Take it With You.^[9]

On September 26, 2021, theTony Awards Administration Committee presented Halston with the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for her advocacy in raising awareness and funding for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.^[12]

Her solo comedy performances at theBirdland Jazz Club areSRO engagements that have earned her fourMAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs).^[13] In 2011, Halston received the designation "Legend of Off-Broadway" from the Off-Broadway Theatre Alliance^[14] and received an Excellence in Theatre Award from the Abington Theatre Company.^[15] In 2008, along with fellow writer Donna Daley, she co-authored the bookMonologues for Show-Offs published by Heinemann Press. The book is used by casting agents, colleges, and performers for audition material.^[16] In May 2020, along with Jim Caruso, Halston launched a popular online talk show titledVirtual Halston and all 41 episodes are available onYouTube.^[17]

Halston has 45 film and TV credits to her name including the 2022 independent featureSimchas and Sorrows (Maude),Intermedium (Winona James),Dirty Rhetoric (Elizabeth) andChosen Family (Dorothy), both currently in post-production. In addition, the 2021 independent featureThe Sixth Reel (Helen), co-starringCharles Busch, has just received national distribution. Halston also starred in the award-winning 2016 short filmHotel Bleu (Jackie). Her television credits include HBO Max'sGossip Girl (Sharon),The Good Fight (Rita), HBO Max'sDivorce (Sharon),Woody Allen'sCrisis in Six Scenes (Roz), The TV web seriesTheMentors, for which she won a NYC Web Fest award for Special Guest Star (2016),Difficult People (Hazel),Law and Order, Special Victims Unit (Cassie Muir),The Electric Company (Mrs. Carruthers),Sex and The City (Bitsy von Muffling),The Class (Tina Carmello), andLaw and Order (Mrs. Lapinsky). She has also appeared in the filmsA Very Serious Person,The Juror,Addams Family Values,Joe Gould's Secret,Drunks,Small Time Crooks,Celebrity, andI Think I Love My Wife.

Although she has extensive film and television credits, she is most known for her portrayal of Bitsy von Muffling, a character first seen in HBO Max'sSex and The City. She reprised the role in the current Max original seriesAnd Just Like That....^[18]

In 1992, Halston married anchor man and entertainment reporter Ralph Howard. Howard worked forWINS andThe Howard Stern Show atSirius XM until his retirement in 2013.^[19] Howard died on August 7, 2018, from complications of pulmonary fibrosis.^[20]

• Julie Halston at theInternet Broadway Database 
• Julie Halston at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
• Julie Halston atIMDb