Julianne was an attractive young woman, confident and aware in regards to her talents and strengths. She was interested in modeling as a teen, although her parents didn’t approve of that career choice. After college, in the early 1980s, she went to Manhattan in order to try and find some work as a model. Standing 1.73 meters tall, she was able to be sponsored by the Elite Modelling Agency. The agency considered her to be a ‘perfect ten package’ and she was able to command a pay rate of $2000 per day. She eventually moved to Los Angeles to try and build an acting career. Her first appearance on a screen was in a music video for the rock musical group .38 Special. That role was her proverbial ‘foot in the door’, and inspired her to audition for additional acting work. In 1984 she appeared in two movies made for television, called Summer Fantasy and His Mistress. Her big breakthrough for her fame was her appearance in a music video for the famous musician Bruce Springsteen and his song titled ‘Glory Days’. Julianne and Bruce were attracted to one another, and began dating. Their intense and steamy courtship was talked about among the Hollywood celebrity gossip avenues.

Julianne’s fame grew exponentially as a result of her courtship with Bruce, and the relationship is responsible for much of her life’s fame. Bruce was at his peak fame around that time, and the entertainment media was very interested in their relationship. They dated for 8 months, and on May 13th, 1985, Julianne Phillips and Bruce Springsteen were married in her home town of Lake Oswego, Oregon. They had to keep their marriage plans very low key, to avoid a media circus invading their ceremony. They decided to marry as soon as their marriage license was valid, which was at midnight on May 13th, 1985. There were about 55 people in attendance, mainly family, but some famous people who were friends of the couple did also attend. Their marriage was somewhat rocky and they were apparently rather ill suited for one another.

The media speculated on their problems, usually blaming Julianne for their trouble. Julianne and Bruce tried to keep the marriage together, but ultimately they separated in 1998 and finally parted ways in 1989. In the divorce settlement, Julianne was granted an alimony settlement of a whopping 30 million dollars, which Phillips did not receive until fifteen years after the divorce. Bruce Springsteen expressed his grief over the failing marriage in his 1987 album titled Tunnel of Love. He later revealed in his biography that he wasn’t ready for marriage, as he was essentially married to his career at that time. They also had an eleven year difference in age, which also negatively affected their compatibility. Their divorce was a ‘no publicity’ divorce, which caused the media to speculate on what exactly happened in their relationship to lead to divorce.