Julie Alexandra Mayer is a fictional character on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actress Andrea Bowen, and first appeared in the pilot episode of the series in 2004. She is the daughter of Susan Delfino (Teri Hatcher) and Karl Mayer (Richard Burgi). They share custody of Julie, though she lives primarily with Susan. Julie is characterized as "bright and self-sufficient and extremely mature for her age." She often acts as the parental figure in her relationship with Susan, especially following Susan's divorce from Karl. However, since the 6th season, Julie's personality has changed quite a bit, with her saying she was no longer the "perfect" daughter.
Development and casting
Prior to being cast in the role, Bowen did not think she would get it, explaining, "they were looking for a 12-year-old brunette ... and I was a 13-year-old blonde." As a result, Bowen was asked to dye her hair for the role. Bowen was initially attracted to the series because of the amount of attention paid to the younger characters. She stated, "If you watch a lot of other television shows, the kids don't have that much [of a] part in it. On this show, the writers give us each our own individual storylines that have a lot of layers to them." For the show's third season, the character's storylines began revolving around themes of teenage rebellion and angst. Bowen commented: "She's going to have, you know, primarily one love interest, and he's a bit of a bad boy. We’re going to see if she has a positive effect on him, or if he has a negative effect on her. I'm definitely very excited about it ... because you kind of get to see a different side to her."
At the beginning of the series' fourth season, Bowen commented on the possibility that her character would be leaving the show for college, stating that the writers had briefly alluded to the character's departure early in the season but removed it from the script. She continued: "Do I want my character to go off to college? No, I'm very happy where I am but I wouldn't be too devastated if it happened because none of us feel too secure with their jobs being that people get killed left and right. I think we all live with the suspicion that we're going to be going." The Julie character was written off the series for the fifth season. Hatcher expressed disappointment in the decision, but series creator Marc Cherry promised that Bowen would return to the series. Bowen returned to the series for one episode during season five and rejoined the main cast as a series regular for the sixth season. She appeared once in the seventh season and returned for a string of episodes in the show's eighth and final season.
Storylines
Season 1
Julie usually helps Susan deal with problems regarding Susan's love life. She also helps to care for her mother after her divorce. She is briefly romantically involved with Zach Young (Cody Kasch), the troubled son of Susan's friend, Mary Alice (Brenda Strong). She harbors Zach in her room when he escapes from the mental institution Paul has sent him to. Susan eventually finds Zach and sends him home, which Julie considers an act of betrayal. Eventually, Susan bans Zach from seeing Julie due to his increasingly disturbing behavior, but they continue dating in secrecy. Soon after, Julie breaks up with Zach because of his sadistic mentality.
Season 2
During the second season, Julie expresses concern over Susan's remarriage to her father Karl, but agrees to it because she wants Susan to have her surgery to remove her wandering spleen. Julie recognizes that Zach has changed and rekindles their romance. As an act of kindness towards Zach and Mike Delfino (James Denton), she invites Zach bowling with them, to try to help Mike and Zach bond. Their friendship is ruined when Zach's father, Paul Young (Mark Moses), forbids him from speaking to Julie, fearing he will discover Mike is his biological father.
Julie catches Susan in bed with Karl, and she is forced to sleep in a small van with Susan when their house is burned down by Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan). Karl buys them a new house, but Susan refuses, eventually moving back to their house in season 3.
Season 3
In the beginning of the third season, Julie meets Edie's nephew, Austin McCann (Josh Henderson), whom she likes but does not want to admit it. Edie soon tells Julie that Austin is bad news and that she should not get attached.