Cover Story May 2022: Julie Estelle

Foto: Dok. Hilarius Jason

In life that is so dynamic, there is no doubt that everyone experiences changes. It doesn’t matter if one likes it or not or whether the outcomes are good or bad; life changes are inevitable and, more often than not, out of one’s control. While changes can come with some difficulties and challenges, they also come with opportunities to learn and grow as a person. How one handles these challenges defines how much persistence one has in going through tough times. 

Julie Estelle, an Indonesian model and actress known for her roles in international and martial arts movies, such as Macabre, The Raid 2, and The Night Comes For Us, has had her fair share of going through changes in life. The beautiful actress shares her inspiring story of handling the challenges of changes with resilience.

 Foto: Dok. Hilarius Jason

Engaged in early 2020, Julie and her soon to be husband planned to have a wedding in France, inviting family members and friends to participate in their celebration of love. However, due to the unforeseen spread of COVID19, they were forced to postpone the plan to 2021. 

When 2021 finally arrived, Julie realized that things were not going to be better than the previous year. “Borders were closed due to the pandemic, and we had family and friends planning to come from other places in the world for our wedding. Other than that, we felt that we couldn’t postpone the wedding since there was no certainty when the pandemic would be over. So we decided to make it happen,” says Julie.

In reality, deciding to make something happen and making it into realization are certainly two very different things. Julie had to make some changes and shifts in the plan. From the location, concept of the wedding to only inviting a small group of people, consisting of family and close friends, making the wedding a more intimate celebration. Julie expressed that she had to go through some really challenging and stressful times during the preparation stage of her new wedding plan.

“The amount of stress involved in the wedding planning was intense. So many things didn’t go as planned as near as one week before the wedding,” Julie reminisces.

After a stressful and gruelling process of change in her plans, in February 2021, Julie married her husband in the Maldives and the beautiful small, and the intimate event was attended by family and close friends.

Foto. Dok. Hilarius Jason

Julie successfully went through the stress and challenges of the massive changes that she had to make, all the while being calm and grounded throughout the process. She said that the most important thing is just doing her best and surrendering. Believing that everything happens for a reason and the results of their efforts are often out of their control, Julie and her husband were able to handle the stressful situation with calm and ease.

“We all have plans in life, but there’s a force that is greater than us; God decides whether the plan will happen for us. Rather than trying to control it, I just surrendered to the force and said to myself that it would happen if this were meant to be. I did my best, and that’s the most important thing.” adds Julie. 

Julie also believes that it is very important to be able to try to see the good thing in a bad situation. When a negative situation occurs, stay grateful and focus on all the things that are working out in life instead of focusing on the bad, which can cause a person to shut down in frustration. 

 Foto: Dok. Hilarius Jason

Other than the significant changes that she had to handle towards her wedding in her career, Julie also experienced a massive change. In 2018, as a result of her hard work and outstanding performances in all the movies she had previously starred in, Julie was signed by an international agency based in the US. 

“An agency in the US approached me, and they expressed that they are interested in representing me in the US movie market. I was, of course, excited about it because it could potentially open doors for me and my career. At the same time, it was also very humbling because I never thought my little role in “The Night Comes for Us” could have quite an impact, not only in the Indonesian market but also internationally.” says Julie.

Julie sees this opportunity as a gateway to bring more of Indonesia’s artists, especially females, to the international market and show the world that Indonesia has exceptional people with incredible talents that are not to be taken lightly.

 Foto: Dok. Hilarius Jason

Julie makes sure she does her research in her preparations for the roles, especially if the role is unique and very specific. However, Julie feels like her preparation for her role in The Raid 2 movie was by far the most challenging she’s ever experienced. 

“When I got cast as the Hammer Girl in The Raid 2, it was a huge milestone. It was the first action genre I’ve ever been in; meanwhile, I had no previous martial arts background, so I had to go through 8 months of physical training with those who had martial arts backgrounds, and some of them were professional martial arts artists.” Julie said.

She continued by saying that to make the hammer an extension of her; she had to sleep, eat, jog, and do everything else in her daily life with a hammer in her hand. She found it essential to be one with the hammer, which eventually smoothly helped her go through the fighting choreography.

 Foto: Dok. Hilarius Jason

When asked to give a message to Indonesian aspiring female actresses with dreams of building a career in movies, Julie responded that it is not enough only to want something. She believes that everybody can achieve what they want, regardless of the field, as long as they follow their heart and believe that they can. Mindset is everything.

“When you’re trying to achieve something new that is outside of your comfort zone, the key is never to give up. Was it difficult for me to train in martial arts? Yes. But I really wanted to do well, so I was determined to go through with it despite the challenges I had to face. Nothing comes easy in life, and everything takes practice, discipline and determination. So I think it all comes down to two things; how strong is your will and how much energy, time and effort you want to put into it,” Julie explains.

Photography by Hilarius Jason
Styling by Ivan Teguh Santoso
Wardrobe by Dior
Makeup by Ryan Ogilvy
Hairdo by Andre
Florist by Anjani Florist