Julia Barretto

Julia Francesca Barretto Baldivia (born March 10, 1997) is a Filipino actress, commercial model, and entrepreneur. Known for playing lead roles in romantic comedies and dramas, she began her career as a child actress in television soap operas. She has starred in films such as Vince and Kath and James, Love You to the Stars and Back, Unexpectedly Yours, and Un/Happy for You. Her accolades include two FAMAS Awards and three Box Office Entertainment Awards.

Barretto is the daughter of actors Dennis Padilla and Marjorie Barretto, and she has two siblings. Her aunts are actresses Claudine Barretto and Gretchen Barretto. She completed grade school at Miriam College in March 2011 and started high school there, playing on their varsity volleyball team in the WNCAA. In 2013, she transferred to St. Paul College in Pasig under a curriculum for professional talents after signing with Star Magic, graduating in 2015. In 2013, she filed a legal petition to change her surname from Baldivia to Barretto.

She made her screen debut in the television series Gulong ng Palad in 2006. She gained broader recognition playing Anna in Kokey in 2007 and Pamela Kiev in Palos in 2008, along with appearances in Wansapanataym and Maalaala Mo Kaya. After being launched in the Star Magic Circle in 2013, Barretto landed her first lead role in the 2014 drama series Mirabella opposite Enrique Gil. That same year, she received the German Moreno Youth Achievement Award at the 62nd FAMAS Awards.

In 2015, Barretto made her film debut in Para sa Hopeless Romantic, earning a FAMAS nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In December 2016, she starred in the Metro Manila Film Festival entry Vince and Kath and James alongside Joshua Garcia. The duo continued their onscreen partnership in Love You to the Stars and Back (2017), Unexpectedly Yours (2017), the television drama Ngayon at Kailanman (2018), and I Love You, Hater (2018). In 2019, she starred in Between Maybes opposite Gerald Anderson.

In 2020, Barretto starred in the zombie film Block Z and the series I Am U, before moving management to Viva Artists Agency in September 2020. Her subsequent projects included the horror film Bahay na Pula (2022) and the romantic drama Expensive Candy (2022). In 2024, she starred in the Viu web series Secret Ingredient, earning an Asian Television Award nomination, and reunited with Garcia for Un/Happy for You. In May 2025, she joined Eat Bulaga! as a co-host during its campus tour.

Outside of media production, Barretto launched her accessory brand, The Juju Club, in November 2021. She joined the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary K9 Squadron Unit as an Auxiliary Ensign in September 2021. She has participated in various philanthropic initiatives, including disaster relief, funding a COVID-19 quarantine facility, and raising funds for pediatric cancer patients.