Julia Goldani Telles (born March 18, 1995), is an American actress and ballet dancer. She is best known for her supporting role as Whitney Solloway on the Showtime original series The Affair and as Sasha Torres on the short-lived ABC Family series Bunheads.

Biography

Telles was born in Los Angeles to a Brazilian mother and Mexican-American father. She moved with her parents to Rio de Janeiro when she was almost two years old. It was there that she was introduced to the world of ballet at the age of 5. When the family relocated back to Los Angeles at age 5, Telles could only speak Portuguese and learned English after the family's move. Telles moved to New York City when she was thirteen and attended Professional Children's School in Manhattan.

Telles trained at the School of American Ballet and Ballet Academy East, and appeared in numerous ballet performances including Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Don Quixote and Swan Lake. Labral tears and tendonitis in her hips at the age of 15 forced Telles to stop practicing ballet for a year, and to avoid depression, she decided to take a drama course.