Julia Jones (born January 23, 1981) is an American stage, film and television actress, best known for portraying Leah Clearwater in The Twilight Saga feature film franchise. Julia Jones was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Frank Jones and Penny Wells She has a younger brother named Cody. She has stated that her mother is of English descent, and that her father "is part Choctaw, Chickasaw, and African-American". She was raised in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, and frequented the first JP Licks ice cream store, which was close to her home. Jones studied at Boston Ballet School from the age of 4. She began working in commercials and local theatre when she was eight. In 1999, Jones graduated from Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the United States. She subsequently attended Columbia University where she earned her bachelor's degree in English in 2005. Jones has modeled in catalogues for Levi Strauss & Co., Gap Inc., Esprit Holdings, and L'Oréal. She appeared