Julia Nickson is an American actress. She first came to the attention of audiences in the United States in the

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

film '' Rambo: First Blood Part II''. She appeared in the 2004 film '' Ethan Mao'' and in the 2008 independent film ''

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''.

Early years

Nickson is the daughter of a British father and a Chinese mother. After her father's death in an automobile accident when she was 6, Nickson and her mother had to live in a house with three more families. Her grandmother often watched Chinese operas on television, and that kindled Nickson's interest in performing. When she was 17 she left Singapore to study at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. Her successful audition for a play while she was there led to a shift in interest from business administration to drama. She left the university after two years to work as a model, study acting, and perform in community theater productions.

Career

While attending the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university system in Hawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, ...

, Nickson was a model in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. There she appeared in her first play, ''

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''. After acting classes, community theater, and roles on '' Magnum, P.I.'', she appeared as the female lead in '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985). She appeared with

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...

in ''

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'' (1992). Her other film appearances have included roles in '' Glitch!'' (1988), '' China Cry'' (1991), '' K2'' (1992), ''

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'' (1994), ''

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'' (1996), '' Devil in the Flesh'' (1998), '' Ethan Mao'' (2004), ''

'' (2008), ''

Dim Sum Funeral ''Dim Sum Funeral'' is a 2008 comedy/drama film directed by Anna Chi and starring Kelly Hu, Bai Ling, Russell Wong, Steph Song and Talia Shire. Premise After their mother dies, four Chinese-American siblings return to their Seattle home. As ...

'' (2008), and ''One Kine Day'' (2011). Nickson guest starred in the final episode of ''

seaQuest 2032 ''SeaQuest DSV'' (stylized as ''seaQuest DSV'' and also promoted as simply ''seaQuest'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon for NBC. It aired between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was rena ...

'' as Lieutenant Commander Heiko Kimura, a role that would have been a main character had the series continued, and in two ''

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'' series: The '' Next Generation'' episode " The Arsenal of Freedom" as Enterprise-D crewmember Ensign Lian T'su, and the '' Deep Space Nine'' episode "

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" as Cassandra, a villager who attempts to seduce Commander

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. She played Catherine Sakai, Commander

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's love-interest, in the first season of ''

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''. She had a recurring role as Dr. Susan Lee on the television series ''

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'' (reuniting her with Chuck Norris), and as Princess Aouda in the 1989 miniseries version of '' Around the World in 80 Days'' opposite

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...

and

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. She had a supporting role in the television version of the novel ''Noble House'', again opposite Brosnan. Julia retired for personal reasons on March 29, 2025

Personal life

Nickson was married to actor/singer

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the Americ ...

from 1987 to 1993. They have one daughter, China Soul, a singer/songwriter. She was a practising Scientologist, having joined the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religiou ...

in 1996. She credited the organization with helping to improve her health.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nickson, Julia Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American actresses 20th-century Singaporean actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century Singaporean actresses American female models American film actresses American people of English descent American television actresses American former Scientologists Singaporean emigrants to the United States Singaporean female models Singaporean film actresses Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean people of English descent Singaporean television actresses University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Hawaii people of Chinese descent