Biography
Differentiating herself from another MTV video jockey who shares the name, this Julie Brown works as a comedian, singer, songwriter, and actress whose profile rests chiefly on a string of mid-1980s novelty singles such as “The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun” and “Trapped in the Body of a White Girl.” She entered the world in Van Nuys, California, and first tested material in the comedy rooms of Los Angeles and San Francisco, where her routines skewered valley girl mannerisms along with public figures including Madonna. A handful of sitcom guest spots and a brief appearance in Clint Eastwood’s Any Which Way You Can preceded her introduction to Lily Tomlin, who spotted the performer at a club and cast her in the 1981 film The Incredible Shrinking Woman. Rhino Records issued the debut EP Goddess in Progress three years afterward, placing “I Like 'Em Big and Stupid” alongside early recordings of “The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun” and “Earth Girls Are Easy.” Brown moved to Sire for the 1987 full-length Trapped in the Body of a White Girl. One year later she appeared with Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, and Jim Carrey while also co-writing and co-producing the feature Earth Girls Are Easy, drawn directly from her earlier song. The network brought her aboard in 1989 as its second employee named Julie Brown, placing her program Just Say Julie on air for the next three years. Commitments to television and film kept her away from new recordings until the 2005 single “I Want to be Gay.” In 2008 she issued the follow-up track “The Ex-Beauty Queen's Got a Gun,” whose lyrics took aim at Sarah Palin.
Albums