The popular teen drama The OC aired on Fox from 2003 until 2007. It has been recently revisited by Melinda Clarke and Rachel Bilson on their podcast, Welcome To The OC, Bitches where they rewatch the episodes and discuss all the fashion, characters, and wild storylines the show had to offer. Clarke played super-villain turned dedicated mother Julie Cooper on all four seasons of the show.
Julie began the series as a rich housewife who cared more about the hair on her daughter's pony than anybody's feelings and slowly matured into a loving mother, a responsible business partner, and a loyal friend. Her character development may have been the best on the show and continued up until the final episode.
She Left Jimmy
In the first few episodes of season one of The OC, viewers learned that Jimmy Cooper has been borrowing money from his clients without their knowledge to pay off his personal debts. When his wife Julie finds out what he's been up to, she quickly leaves him and asks for a divorce.
Julie knew that staying married to Jimmy would be bad for her public image, but she also didn't want to stay with a man who was dishonest and couldn't provide for his family. It was in the moment that she chose to divorce him that fans learned what Julie wanted out of a marriage and that she refused to settle for anything less.
She Worked For What She Wanted
After leaving Jimmy, Julie sought out Caleb Nichol as her new romantic partner and financial prospect. She began a relationship with him and worked for his company alongside Kirsten, where she got to develop her skills as an interior designer.
Though she wasn't always successful, Julie worked hard to learn the intricacies of the Newport Group and lead the business after Caleb's ing. She wasn't afraid to ask Kirsten for help when she needed it and grew as a business partner in the process. In just two seasons, Julie went from a bored housewife to an entrepreneur who didn't need her husband's help to floruish.
She Learned From Her Mistakes
Julie Cooper was a flawed woman, and she would be the first to it it. While she was a stern parent to her daughter, it was because she was afraid that Marissa would repeat the same mistakes that she had made in the past.
Thankfully, Julie learned from those errors and was able to apply those lessons to her present and future. She didn't let her past define her, like the adult video that resurfaced of her in season 2. She owned up to all of her poor decisions and vowed to do better if given the opportunity.
She Became Close With The Cohens
Julie was always close with the Cohen family by default due to their close physical proximity, but it wasn't until after Caleb ed away that they got to really know her and appreciate her for who she was.
Julie and Kirsten's friendship was a highlight of the show and proof that Julie was more than just a one-dimensional villain who was initially one of the most hated ing players on The O.C. The two women both had romantic histories with Jimmy Cooper, yet their relationship was the one that stood the test of time. When she formed a real friendship with Kirsten and Sandy, viewers were able to see the softer, kinder side of her personality that genuinely cared about others.
She Went Back To Her Roots
After Caleb's ing, Julie was forced to move out of his mansion and into the trailer park she grew up in. Though she was disheartened by the idea of no longer being wealthy and living a life of luxury, Julie accepted her fate and moved back to Riverside. She let Marissa live with Summer and her father so that she would be more comfortable, leaving Julie alone and temporarily isolated from her upper class friends. She put her daughter first and her comfort second, proving that she had matured from seasons one to three.
She Repaired Her Relationship With Marissa
Marissa and Julie didn't get along for the majority of the series, with Julie wanting what was best for her daughter but never being able to convey it in a loving and kind way. There was a communication barrier and lack of control for Julie, leading to Marissa wanting to be as far away from her mother as possible.
Before Marissa's tragic death at the end of season 3, Julie and her daughter finally began to repair their relationship. Marissa was ive of her mother's romance with Dr. Roberts, and they both were united in their protectiveness over Kaitlin. When Marissa planned to sail the seas with her dad after graduation, Julie gave her the blessing she always desired.
She Fell In Love
A lot of Julie's relationships were out of practicality and not necessarily based on love and ion. She married Jimmy after getting pregnant at a young age, married Caleb for money, and had an affair with Marissa's ex-boyfriend Luke.
When Julie started seeing Frank Atwood, Ryan's father, in season 4, viewers got to see her in love. She developed genuine feels for him and eventually got pregnant with his son. It was nice for viewers to see Julie Cooper truly happy and in love, even if she didn't end up with him in the show's finale.
She Stuck To Her Morals
Julie was known in the past for doing things that served her best interest and not necessarily the best interest of those around her, but that changed as she spent more time with the Cohens.
When Charlotte tried to get Julie on board with a fundraising scheme that would result in them steals hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Newpsies (a nickname for the Orange County's wealthy female population) with the unknowing assistance of Kirsten, Julie let Charlotte believe she was in on her plan before surprisingly betraying her and standing up for her best friend. It was a great moment of character growth for Julie and showed just how much she cared about Kirsten, who at this point is a surrogate sister to her one-time rival.
She Accepted And Grew To Appreciate Ryan
From the moment he showed up in Orange County, Julie Cooper didn't like Ryan Atwood. She mistakenly thought he was nothing but trouble due to his working-class background and wanted him to stay as far away from her daughter as possible.
It wasn't until Marissa's death in one of the The O.C.'s most heartbreaking scenes that Julie fully accepted Ryan and saw him as the great person he had proven to be. She realized how much he loved her eldest daughter and the two bonded over their shared grief. The two of them always had a lot more in common than they thought they did, and their sweet scenes in season 4 cemented their new congenial relationship.
She Put Herself & Kaitlin First
In season 4 of The OC, Julie was torn between pursuing her ionate love for Frank and marrying Bullitt, who was wealthy but lacked a verbal filter. Her relationship with Frank was a secret while Bullitt continuously pursued Julie despite her not reciprocating his feelings.
However, Julie's surviving daughter Kaitlin was close with Bullitt, as he filled her parental void. Julie was set to marry Bullitt for the sake of her daughter, however, at the last second, she decided what was truly best for both her and Kaitlin was for the two of them to take on the world alone (and with her child on the way).