Julia Braverman-Graham (portrayed by Erika Christensen) is the wife of Joel Graham and the mother of Sydney Graham and Victor Graham. She works as a corporate lawyer.
Life
Character Traits
Julia is the youngest out of her siblings and seemingly closest to her brother Crosby. She attended law school at Stanford University, becoming a very successful lawyer. Julia has competitive traits, both at work and at home and has been described as having a Type-A personality. Julia is intelligent and caring, and although she takes her job very seriously, she is very involved with her family and raising her children Sydney and Victor.
Season 1
In the beginning of the show, Julia struggles with not having enough time outside of work to spend with her daughter Sydney. Her husband, Joel, is a stay-at-home father and therefore spends all of his time with Sydney. Julia also battles with the gossip of the school parents, who not-so-secretly criticize her for being a working mom. It comes to Julia's attention that a school mother, Racquel, has feelings for Joel and tried to kiss him. When she finds out, Julia handles it well, calmly asking Joel to stay away from her. Eventually, she relents, as Racquel is the mother of Sydney's best friend Harmony. In the end of the season, Julia tells Joel that she wants another baby and they agree to begin trying.
Season 2
Julia and Joel try to have another baby in Season 2, but it isn't happening. They both get tested by a doctor where it's revealed that Julia has uterine scarring as a result of giving birth. While it's not harmful at all, it makes the chances of conceiving again very unlikely. Julia is devastated by this news, but tells Joel that she wants to adopt. Julia also helps her brother Crosby in this season and tries to fix things between him and Jasmine.
Season 3
Julia and Joel are actively involved in the adoption process. Julia reaches out to a pregnant barista at her law firm, Zoe, who does not want to keep it. Julia asks if she can adopt her baby. At first, Zoe says no, but later gives in. Julia spends a lot of time with Zoe, helping her get her life on track. In the end of the season, Zoe gives birth to a baby boy. Julia and Joel are overjoyed, but Zoe decides to keep it, devastating them. Zoe comes to apologize and says that Julia changed her life. Julia wishes her well and accepts her apology. In the season finale, the foster agency reaches out to Julia and Joel and says that there's an 8 year old boy who needs adopting as his mother is incarcerated. They accept and are greeted with the arrival of Victor.
Season 4
In Season 4, Julia works hard to bond with Victor, and consequently, her job suffers. She makes a huge mistake, and then quits after realizing that her focus is not going to be on her clients. After the adoption of Victor, Julia and Joel are unsure how to parent him due to his difficult behavior. Julia particularly struggles with this, feeling as though Victor hates her and considers not going through with it. Crosby pushes her to adopt him, saying that Victor needs her. Eventually, Julia and Joel decide to adopt him and the whole family joins them in the courthouse.
Season 5
In Season 5, Julia is a stay-at-home mom while Joel has gone off to work. Julia meets a fellow unemployed parent at the school, Ed Brooks, whom she volunteers with. She and Ed immediately bond over their mutual hatred of not working and share intimate details of their marriages. When Julia tells Joel that she feels she is drowning at home, he shrugs it off and accuses her of not having the respect for him he had for her when she was working.
Julia begins to feel hopeless and unhappy and can no longer turn to Joel. Instead, she vents these feelings to Ed, who separates from his wife in the meantime. Eventually, she realizes that her friendship with Ed has turned into an emotional affair and goes to his house to end it. However, she ends up hugging Ed, who is having a tough time of things, and Ed kisses her. Julia kisses him back but later pulls away, saying that she is married. Joel clues in to their relationship and asks Julia if anything has happened between them. Julia denies this but later tells Joel about their kiss. Joel becomes angry, asking her why he wasn't told immediately after it happened. Julia insists that she felt nothing on her end.
Joel continues to be cold to Julia and she suggests marriage counseling. Joel responds that the marriage isn't the problem: Julia is. Joel then decides to move out. The two go to a counselor to decide how to tell the children. When she asks whether it is a trial separation with hopes of reconciliation, Julia responds that it definitely is but Joel says he's not sure.
After he tells the children, they are devastated. When Joel leaves, the children complain that they are sick and need to call their father. Julia takes them to her parents house where Crosby and his family are staying. Once the children are out of the room, she breaks down and admits to her parents that her marriage might be over.
Near the end of Season 5, Julia begs Joel again for him to forgive her, but he still won't and tells her that she is free to start seeing other people, leading Julia to start to accept the end of their marriage. She tentatively begins to start seeing Ed, but realizes she isn't ready for a serious relationship. She then proceeds to sleep with Mr. Knight, the headmaster for Adam and Kristina's charter school.
Season 6
At the beginning of Season 6, Julia is seen sleeping with her co-worker, Chris. The two of them work together at a law firm, where Julia has begun working. Though their relationship is casual, Chris admits that he likes her and has liked her since their freshman year of college at Stanford, where they first started dating. The two start a more serious relationship, causing Joel to rethink the divorce, while Julia insists that she and Joel sign the divorce papers. Soon, Joel admits that he will fight for Julia and has always loved her. Julia is at first reluctant to take him back as she doesn't know whether or not he will walk out on her again. She and Chris break up and Julia and Joel end up sleeping together instead of signing divorce papers and are on their way to reuniting. Joel moves back in, they fix their relationship and the pair is stronger than ever. In the series finale, Julia and Joel adopt Victor's baby half-sister. It is also revealed that Joel and Julia have later had a fourth child - a biological son.