Said to have been the inspiration for the character "Julie Baker" in 'Francois Truffaut''s Day for Night (1973).
She discovered she wanted to become an actress when, at the age of nine, she snuck out of her Paris boarding school and spent the day with a complete stranger who was an aspiring actor.
She is a fan of actress Meryl Streep.
She lived with investigative journalist Duncan Campbell from 1979 before their wedding in January 2008.
She reluctantly agreed to star in writer-director Sarah Polley's debut feature-film Away from Her (2006) after many months of persuasion. Christie, who had acted previously with Polley, liked her script, but -- like Polley -- is ambivalent about her acting career. She finally capitulated and her brilliant performance in the film, which debuted at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and is due to be released in the United States in the Spring of 2007, has generated buzz predicting that the film likely will bring Christie her fourth Best Actress Oscar nomination.
The infamous dinner-party scene in Shampoo (1975) was completely improvised by Julie and Warren Beatty, much to the surprise of the rest of the cast and director Hal Ashby.
The off-screen romance of Terence Stamp and Christie while they were filming Far from the Madding Crowd (1967) has been said to have inspired The Kinks' hit, "Waterloo Sunset", hence the line "Terry met Julie" in the song but Ray Davies of The Kinks who penned the song, in a 2004 interview, denied this, saying: "No, Terry and Julie were real people. I couldn't write for stars." Stamp later turned down the role of Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451 (1966) due to his complicated emotions over co-starring with Christie, backing out of the role on the pretext of Julie receiving top billing. Oskar Werner subsequently played Montag.
Turned down roles in Two for the Road (1967), Valley of the Dolls (1967), Rosemary's Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974), American Gigolo (1980), and a re-make of the Greta Garbo classic Camille (1936).
Turned down the leads in The Collector (1965), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), and Reds (1981), all roles that won the actresses who eventually played them Best Actress Academy Award nominations.
Turned down the role of Lara in Doctor Zhivago (1965) at the time the most coveted role in Hollywood, several times before finally accepting.
Turned down the role of Laura Fischer, Paul Newman's girlfriend, in The Verdict (1982). Subsequently, Charlotte Rampling was cast in the role.
Turned down the role of Louise Bryant in her former lover Warren Beatty's Reds (1981) as she thought the role should be played by an American. Beatty's then-lover Diane Keaton won a Best Actress Academy Award nomination playing the role.
Was Charlton Heston's first choice as co-star The War Lord (1965), according to Heston's published diaries "Charlton Heston: The Actor's Life; Journals 1956-1976". She was vetoed by the studio because her fee was too high, much to Heston's consternation, who believed she was about to become a major star. He was proved right at the end of 1965, the year that "The War Lord" was released.
Was best friends with actress Sharon Tate.
Was considered as the first "Bond Girl" for Dr. No (1962). She was not chosen because she was considered to be too flat-chested by the producers.
Was once fashion designer Christian Lacroix's muse, he designed the pink chiffon gown with matching slippers that she wore to the 1971 Academy Awards, and continued to outfit her throughout her career.
Was the producers first choice to play Presidential widow Liz Cassidy, a role modeled on Jacqueline Kennedy, in The Greek Tycoon (1978). Despite being offered a $1 million fee, she turned it down, and the role was played by Jacqueline Bisset.