Inside Julia Stiles' Private World With Husband Preston Cook & 3 Sons

Dancing With the Stars Season 35 Cast RevealedWhile Julia Stiles' Dancing With the Stars journey doesn't get underway until Sept. 15, she has not been saving her moves for the ballroom. Her sons with husband Preston Cook—Strummer, 8, Arlo, 4, and Henry, 2—"see me dance every day and every night in my kitchen and in the living room," the actress, who’s partnering with pro Ezra Sosa, told E! News after the season 35 cast was announced. "They're like, 'There goes Mommy again.'" But, she admitted, "in the outfits and the heels—and in that ballroom—yeah, it's pretty special." And in this case, taking her work home with her is fun for the whole family. She'll pick her kids up "and I'm practicing the dance holding them," she explained. "And my husband will just stand there and I'll twirl around him." But if this seems like a surprising step for the 10 Things I Hate About You alum to take, it isn't. Not even a little bit, not even at all."I’ll go down YouTube rabbit holes of watching old videos, and I have my favorite choreographers," Stiles told People in February 2025. "We’ve talked about me doing it, but I live in New York City, so it would be hard. Maybe they could do an East Coast version."Arturo Holmes/Peacock via Getty ImagesThough now it sounds as if Stiles' family may be ready for a rare moment in the spotlight, the 45-year-old does enjoy leading a private life in her native New York. Stiles met camera assistant Cook toward the end of 2014 while making the thriller Blackway. They got engaged the following year on Christmas Eve, Cook popping the question while they were in Isla Grande, Colombia, with his family. The Save the Last Dance star was admittedly hoping for a proposal, she later shared on Live With Kelly!, but "because I'm a lady, I was like, 'Do not ruin a perfectly good vacation by getting your hopes up. Just let it go. Be in the present moment.'"Yet a previously mysterious comment Cook made about her jewelry preferences—gold over platinum—proved a harbinger of things to come. "It was a full moon," Stiles shared. "We were on a tropical island, and he's a really good man. I found it!" And the fact that he was a cameraman had its advantages.Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/WireImage"We were so lucky, because you often don't get to [work together], and if you're away from each other it can be hard on your relationship," Stiles told Marie Claire UK in 2017 after Cook scored a spot on the crew of her crime drama Riviera. "[When I got the part], I panicked and thought, 'Oh my god, I'm going to be away for seven months,'" she recalled. "But they hired him because he has a great résumé, and they needed someone bilingual. It turned into the most romantic experience ever." Meanwhile, they had been "really slow" about wedding planning, as she told People in August 2016, but soon enough a reason presented itself to get going on those vows."Who doesn’t love a shotgun wedding?" Stiles captioned an Instagram post revealing they had tied the knot on a Seattle beach over Labor Day weekend in 2017. Strummer was born a month later. While she initially was open to sharing his adorableness with the world, the backlash she got in response to a November 2017 photo of her carrying the 1-month-old was enough to put her off posting baby pictures for good. "I can take all the criticism, I can deal with that. I'm an adult," she told InStyle in 2019. "But when they started making comments about him, the mama bear kicked in and I was like, 'Oh, hell no. That's totally off limits, and how dare you?' I don't really have regrets, but it was a big lesson for me to not share photos with my son."At the same time, however, becoming a mom helped Stiles thrive in her day job. "My focus is less inward," she told Romper in 2019. "I don't go home and dwell on what I did at work that day, and I don't lie in bed thinking about the scene coming up tomorrow and stress about it. It's made me much more fluid as an actress." Arlo arrived in January 2022 (his tiny feet did get an Instagram cameo) and Stiles revealed in April 2024 as she was making her directorial debut with the film Wish You Were Here that she had a 5-month-old at home, as well. "I think that actually being a mom is really great training for being a director," Stiles told the New York Times in 2024. "You have to think 10 steps ahead but also be in the present moment. You have to be good at time management. You have to be sensitive to people’s needs and guide them, but also hold a boundary.”Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca FestivalAnd though she was "running on fumes" with three young kids at home, the veteran star wasn't complaining. Rather, she added, "I feel more energized than I ever have." Better yet, Strummer visited her on the set of Wish You Were Here and, while she thought he'd be "bored to tears," she told People in February 2025, he was "actually captivated." "As a mom, you feel guilty for being preoccupied with work even though it’s important," she explained, "so to know he’s proud of his mom was wonderful." It sounds like Stiles has just the right crew to cheer her on in her quest for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, which she finally leaped at the chance to do despite it requiring a temporary relocation to Los Angeles. Read on to see all the celebs competing on the 35th season of Dancing With the Stars:Disney/Andrew EcclesJulia Stiles & Ezra SosaYou won't hate this news—the 10 Things I Hate About You star will be saving the last dance for her pro partner.Disney/Andrew EcclesGiada De Laurentiis & Alan BerstenCha-cha-chopping away... The celebrity chef will be turning up the heat this season.Disney/Andrew EcclesHarry Shum Jr. & Jenna JohnsonWhat did you miss on Glee? The actor taking his musical talents to the dance floor.Disney/Andrew EcclesTaylor Hanson & Britt StewartThe former '90s teen heartthrob will hope to MMMBop his way to the top of the leaderboard on season 35.Disney/Andrew EcclesTatyana Ali & Jan RavnikThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actress will be bringing her fresh moves to the dance floor.Disney/Andrew EcclesJenna Dewan & Val ChmerkovskiyTwenty years after starring in Step Up, the dancer is stepping up to the challenge.Disney/Andrew EcclesAmber Glenn & Pasha PashkovThe 2026 Olympic figure skater will take her skills from the ice to the ballroom.Disney/Andrew EcclesEzra Frech & Daniella KaragachThe Team USA Paralympic track and field athlete will show off his athleticism on DWTS.Disney/Andrew EcclesSarah Jane Nader & Hailey BillsAfter sister Brooks Nader competed on season 33, the Love Thy Nader star is trying her hand. Disney/Andrew EcclesConnor Wood & Rylee ArnoldThe comedian, also known as Fibula on social media, is ready to earn more applause on DWTS.Disney/Andrew EcclesConner Leavitt & Adele ZaikmanThe Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star is following in the footsteps of wife Whitney Leavitt—who competed on season 34.Disney/Andrew EcclesTyler Cameron & Sharna BurgessThe Bachelor Nation star is trading in roses for rumbas.Disney/Andrew EcclesJackson Olson & Emma SlaterThe Savannah Bananas baseball player is stepping up to the plate, bringing his dance moves from the diamond to the ballroom.Disney/Andrew EcclesGuillermo Rodriguez & Witney CarsonThe Jimmy Kimmel Live! star is ready to learn some new moves.Disney/Andrew EcclesCiara Miller & Brandon ArmstrongThe Summer House star is prepping for her turn in the ballrom. "Looks are not indicative of being in shape," Ciara exclusively told E! News in June. "I do huff and puff going up the stairs, so I gotta get back into the gym and work on my stamina."Disney/Andrew EcclesMaura Higgins & Mark BallasThe Love Island UK alum is hoping her love for DWTS doesn't betray her as she manifested this experience. "I have a vision board and I redo it every year," she told E! News in May. "This year is the first year that I stayed at home by myself on New Year's Eve. I did not go out at all. I made myself a bowl of pasta and a glass of red wine and I redid my vision board for the year. Dancing With the Stars was already on it from the year before. However, I added five more Dancing With the Stars on the board."