Julie Cooper

:"This article is about the fictional character in The O.C., for the EastEnders character please see Julie Cooper (EastEnders)"Infobox character
name = Julie Cooper-Nichol
colour = #ffaa44


caption =
portrayer = Melinda Clarke
creator = Josh Schwartz
species =
gender = Female
first = Premiere (episode 1.01)
last = The End's Not Near, It's Here (episode 4.16)
cause = Series Finale
episode = 82
age = 42(flashforward)
33(first appearance-2003)
occupation = College Graduate
Former CEO of the Newport Group
Former Co-founder, NewMatch
title = businesswomen
family = Marissa Cooper (daughter, deceased)
Kaitlin Cooper (daughter)
Unnamed Atwood (son)
spouse = Frank Atwood (ex-boyfriend?)
Lance Baldwin (ex-boyfriend)
Jimmy Cooper (ex-husband)
Caleb Nichol (husband, deceased)
Luke Ward (ex-boyfriend)
Dr. Neil Roberts (ex-fiancé)
Spencer Bullit (ex-boyfriend)
Gordon Bullit (ex-fiancé?)

Julie Cooper-Nichol (born January 20, 1970) is a fictional character on the FOX TV series "The O.C.". She is portrayed by the actress Melinda Clarke.

The character initially was only suppose to be in a few episodes, but due to the extreme popularity of her character, she (along Summer Roberts) were added as regulars from episode 14 onward.

Before season 1

Julie Cooper, who is introduced in episode 1.01 ("Pilot"), was raised in a trailer park in Riverside, and has stated she always imagined living the high life. She left her former boyfriend Lance Baldwin for Jimmy Cooper, and she started a new life in Newport Beach. In the second season, Cooper mentions she was pregnant at 18 with her first daughter, Marissa, and that Jimmy Cooper did the "honorable thing" by marrying her.

eason 1

When her husband, Jimmy stole money from his clients' trust funds, Julie soon divorces him, claiming she and her daughters deserved better. After dating Caleb Nichol, she was dumped by his daughter for him, and had a passionate love affair with her daughter's ex-boyfriend, Luke Ward. Once she married Caleb, she became the most powerful woman in Newport.

eason 2

Her husband, Caleb, made her CEO of his company, the Newport Group, and in order to give it a new look, Julie decided to launch a magazine, "Newport Living". Her fame soon came back to haunt her, when her ex-lover Lance came back into her life. He threatened to release a copy of an adult video she had participated in years earlier, if she did not give him $500,000. When Caleb dismissed her concerns and didn't pay him, Lance released the tape at a party originally intended for the magazine launch.

Outraged and embarrassed, Caleb filed for divorce. According to the marriage agreement, Julie was entitled to a sum of 3 million dollars if and only if she had been married for a period of one year. When Caleb tried to file for the divorce, the two had only been married for a period of 11 months and 27 days. In addition to the divorce, Caleb fired Julie as CEO of his company. This was done shortly after he received pictures of Julie kissing Lance at his motel. The timing of Caleb's attacks would essentially leave her with nothing from the marriage.

Left with the possibility of being out on the street with two daughters, Julie began to devise plans to secure her life and position. Lance had offered to kill Caleb, but Julie refused the offer knowing that neither of them were killers. When Caleb pushed her too far, Julie was forced to finish the job herself and attempted to give him an overdose of sleeping pills in his drink. But she found herself unable to go through with it. Minutes later, he died anyway because of a heart attack. By the end of the season, she seemed to be returning to a relationship with her ex-husband Jimmy.

eason 3

At the beginning of season three, the reunion of Julie and Jimmy proves ill-fated, as Jimmy's financial woes separate the two once again, effectively leaving Julie a widow. For a time, she was given a condo to live in by Charlotte Morgan in exchange for helping in a scheme against Kirsten, which Julie wound up foiling. She was forced to move in a trailer park and allowed Marissa to stay with the Roberts family. She has begun forming a new business venture with friend (and one-time stepdaughter) Kirsten Cohen. Her recent relationship with Dr. Neil Roberts has started a romantic affair between the two that has led to their engagement. Julie then moves to Dr. Robert's mansion. As her eldest daughter's graduation approached, her youngest, Kaitlin, returned from boarding school and announced that she would be staying in Newport. Marissa had decided to spend the following year working with her father on a yacht, and they thought it would be better if Julie had at least one daughter to care for. As Marissa and Ryan were driving to the airport, a drunken Volchok - Marissa's ex-boyfriend - forced Ryan to lose control of his vehicle, thus leading to Marissa's death.

eason 4

At the beginning of the fourth season, Julie, unable to cope with the loss of her daughter Marissa, develops an addiction to pain killers. Her relationship with Dr. Roberts is greatly affected by Marissa's death, which leads a heartbreaking end to their relationship. Dr. Roberts leaves to work in Seattle with his ex-wife Gloria (the stepmother) but lets Julie and Kaitlin stay in his house. After Kevin Volchok, who caused Marissa's death, is arrested, she finally gets through her grief. She begins dating her German fitness instructor, and her daughter's tennis instructor, Spencer. She is set up by Kirsten with Gordon Bullit, an investor in "NewMatch". She then becomes responsible for the more illegal side of the dating service, which involves young men, older women, and money. She is caught out by Kirsten and later fired from the company. Julie since has reconciled with Kirsten (although she is still not longer a partner of NewMatch). She recently had to choose between two men, Gordon Bullit and Frank Atwood on Valentine's Day. After both men vied for her affections, she chose Frank.

For some time, Kaitlin had despised Frank and tried to convince her mother to get married to Bullit. However, she explains that ever since her dad leaving, Marissa's death, and the numerous dates with other men, they never had a chance to sit down and be a family. With that answer, Julie and Frank take a break and she rekindles her relationship with Kaitlin at an ice cream shop. Unfortunately, they are trapped there when an earthquake hits Newport.

In the series finale, 6 months have passed and a pregnant Julie is engaged to Gordon Bullit. But Frank interrupts their wedding and Julie chooses not to go through with the marriage. We also find out that the baby is Frank's, a fact of which Julie had already made Bullit aware. After deciding to stay single, Julie goes back to undergraduate school and finally gets her degree. She is quoted to have said , "Not now Kaitlin, Mom is trying to figure out who to marry." Years later in a flash-forward sequence set in 2012, Julie graduates with the support of her family, including Bullit, Frank, Kaitlin, and her son. It is not clear if she is romantically involved with either man.

Family tree

*Cindy (sister)
*Jimmy Cooper (ex-husband)
**Marissa Cooper (daughter) (deceased)
**Kaitlin Cooper (daughter)
*Frank Atwood (boyfriend, current status unknown)
**Unnamed Atwood (son)
**Ryan Atwood (possibly stepson)
**Trey Atwood (possibly stepson)
*Caleb Nichol (husband) (deceased)
**Kirsten Cohen (ex-step daughter)
***Sandy Cohen (ex-step son-in-law)
***Seth Cohen (ex-step grandson)
***Ryan Atwood (ex-adoptive step grandson)
**Hailey Nichol (ex-step daughter)
**Lindsay Gardner (ex-step daughter)