Jules Asner Biography

Jules Asner (born February 14, 1968) is an American television personality, writer, and former fashion model. Since 2003 she has been married to director Steven Soderbergh.

Personal life

Asner was born Julie Ann White in Tempe, Arizona. Aged 16, she was discovered at a modeling convention in Scottsdale, Arizona. She began her career as an Elite model. She shared a bunkroom with Cindy Crawford during the early years of her modeling career. In 1986, she graduated from McClintock High School in Tempe. She attended college at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating with a degree in Political Science.

Marriages

In her early 20s she was briefly married to Matthew Asner, son of actor Edward Asner. On May 10, 2003, she married movie director Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh often credits his wife with influencing his female characters.

Career

Asner was an entertainment reporter for Reuters Television Good Morning England, The Entertainment Show on Sky Television, and Extra. She hosted Live by Request on A&E and was a segment director and producer on now defunct tabloid show, Hard Copy.

Asner is a long-time E! personality. During her peak with the network she hosted six hours of programming daily. Among the series she hosted were Revealed with Jules Asner, E! News Live and Wild On! as well as many live specials for the network. She received a Prism Award as well as a Gracie Award for her interview show Revealed with Jules Asner.

In 2004, Asner signed a development deal with Sony Pictures Television to produce and host her own daytime talk show, Life & Style. The show was often referred to as a "younger version of The View". She was later joined by Cynthia Garrett, Lynne Koplitz, and Kimora Lee Simmons. Although cleared in 90% of the country, Sony was never able to secure a New York clearance for the show and the series was canceled after one season.

The Weinstein Company/Miramax Books purchased the publishing rights to her first novel, Whacked. The book was released June 3, 2008. Whacked was a top ten fiction bestseller on Amazon, and was in its third printing within its first month of release.

Asner has sometimes been included in magazine rankings of "sexy" women:

• Maxim magazine's Girls of Maxim gallery
• FHM-US's 100 Sexiest Women 2001 Ranked number 91
• FHM-US's 100 Sexiest Women 2002 Ranked number 51
• FHM-US's 100 Sexiest Women 2003 Ranked number 82