Actress Julie Halston was born Julie Abatelli on December 7, 1954 in Suffolk County, New York. Of mixed descent—her mother is part-Irish and part-German, while her father is Italian American—she spent her childhood growing up in Commack, Long Island. She rose to fame for her appearances on stage, beginning in the 1980s as part of the comedies of playwright Charles Busch. She later became a regular on the Broadway circuit, appearing in several revivals, as well as in the Tony Award-winning productions Hairspray and Gypsy. She herself earned Drama Desk Award nominations for her performances in the plays White Chocolate and Red Scare on Sunset. In addition, her one-woman comedy shows earned her similar acclaim.
It was only in the 1990s when Halston began to take roles on television and film. She first focused on films, making her debut in Addams Family Values in 1993, and later appearing on releases such as Drunks, The Juror and David Searching. Only later did she slowly move to television, with her first notable offing being in Sex and the City as aging socialite Bitsy von Muffling. (She would reprise this role through a cameo in the comedy’s 2008 film adaptation.) Her only major television role to date is in the comedy series The Class, where she appeared as Tina Carmello, the nice yet sometimes overbearing mother of Duncan (Jon Bernthal).