Julie is the daughter, and youngest child, of Addie and Ben Olson. Julie's only brother is Steven Olson. Julie was a rebellious teenager who lived with her grandparents Tom and Alice when her parents moved to Europe. Julie had planned on eloping with David Martin, but backed out after talking to Tom about it. Later Julie went after David while he was married to her best friend, Susan, always hopefully he would leave Susan one day and marry her. However, that dream was shattered in 1967 when David was killed by his wife Susan, who blamed him for the death of their son. To make things worse, during the trial of Susan Martin Julie was exposed as being pregnant with David Martin's child. Julie would eventually give birth to her child, who she named David, and following her Grandfather's advice she gave the child up for adoption.

Little David would be adopted by Scott and Janet Banning, who named him Brad and all three would move to Salem. After Janet Banning died Julie's ex-best friend Susan began to move in on Scott and grew found of his adopted son. Eventually Julie would learn that the boy Scott and Janet were adopting was her little David, so she sued for custody of him and won. She allowed Scott visitation rights to see little David, and eventually the two married in 1969.

In December of 1970 Julie met Doug Williams, who at the time was being paid by Susan Martin to have an affair with Julie. Julie fell in love with Doug, and Doug with Julie. In 1970 Doug and Julie would eventually make love at Doug's apartment.

Julie would stay married to Scott Banning and continue to see Doug, but in 1972 Julie began legal preparations to divorce Scott. In 1972 Julie and Doug planned a getaway to Portofino, but the night they were to leave they had a fight over whether not Julie would bring her son David with her. Julie walked out on Doug, and in turn he married Julie's mother Addie on the spur of the moment. After learning of the marriage Julie became depressed, and ultimately stopped the divorce and remained married to Scott Banning.

In 1973 Julie's husband, Scott, was killed in a construction accident while working for Anderson Manufacturing. Phyllis and Bob Anderson felt guilty and offered Julie a house to live in, and financial support. Julie would be dealt another blow when she learned her mother Addie and Doug were expecting a child.

In 1974 Julie became engaged to Don Craig, however she broke it of when she learned her mother Addie was dying, and their may be a chance for her and Doug after all. Julie and Doug stayed by Addie's side, who had finally slipped into a coma. On December 24 1974 Hope Williams was born. Addie came out of her coma and made Julie promise to care for the baby and Doug, however Addie would soon go into remission. Julie would then turn to a recently divorced Bob Anderson, and they married in late 1974. Phyllis felt betrayed by Julie, and in an attempt to murder her she accidentally shot her own daughter Mary.

Julie's marriage to Bob Anderson wasn't up to par with the exciting life she was living, and by 1975 Julie decided to leave Bob Anderson. Julie was pregnant with Bob's child when she decided to divorce him. Julie thought she might have a chance with Doug, but Doug knew she was with child and told her he didn't love her and to return to Bob.

Julie moved into Doug's guest room, and eventually began to rebuild her relationship with her son David. However David's girlfriend Brooke grew jealous of their relationships and began spreading lies that Julie was pregnant with Doug's child and not Bob's. Brooke's lies worked, and David became disgusted with his mother. After having a huge argument with Julie, David took Doug's car and speed off, eventually driving off of a bridge. When no body was found David was pronounced dead, and a memorial service was held for him.

Near the end of 1975 Julie would receive news from Paul Grant that David was alive and staying with his family. Julie was in such a rush to see David she tripped down some stairs and suffered a miscarriage (the baby was thought of as Robert Anderson, Jr).

In 1976 Julie divorced Bob Anderson and reunited with Doug and they became engaged. Shortly after, Kim Douglas showed up in Salem claiming to the legal wife of Brent Douglas, Doug's real name. After a few months Kim eventually revealed that she and Doug had been divorced for many years and Julie and Doug married in 1976.

In 1977 Doug fell on hard times when he lost his liquor license and eventually the club. Julie bought back the club and turned it into Doug's Coffee House, but Doug was forced to leave Salem for awhile to take care of business elsewhere. During his absence Julie faced problems with the club staff, and Larry Atwood was there to help her through it. Julie was not aware of it, but Larry had set Doug up in a dope bust to keep him out of Salem while he went after Julie.

In 1978 Larry Atwood would succeed in his plan and raped Julie. Julie was traumatized by the event and pulled away from everyone, including Doug. Doug felt Julie had turned his back on him because of the drug bust, but when Doug received a letter form Jeri Clayton accusing Julie of having an affair with Larry he believed it. Julie eventually told Doug about the rape, and soon after Larry was found dead. Julie would stand trial for his death, and during the trial Julie's rape was made public. Eventually Larry Atwood's assistant Arlo Roberts admitted to killing Larry and Julie was cleared.

Later that year Julie met her brother while vacationing in Paris and brought him home to work at Doug's Coffee House, and later at her own antique store she opened. At both businesses Steven cheated and stole from his sister Julie.

In 1979 Julie was badly burned by Maggie's oven when it blew up in her face. When Julie saw what her appearance was she was sure that Doug would no longer want her as his wife. When a reconstructive operation failed Julie went to Mexico and got a divorce behind Doug's back. Julie began dating her doctor Jordan Barr, and later that year when she underwent surgery again the operation was a success. Julie felt she could pick up her marriage with Doug again, but was soon found out that Doug had married Lee Dumonde in her absence.

In 1980 Doug realized his marriage was a mistake, and wanted to return to Julie. Lee wouldn't allow that and attempted to have Julie killed. Julie was shot, but managed to survive. Lee then tried to fake a suicide by overdosing. Lee accidentally mixed the wrong pills and suffered a stroke which left her paralyzed. Lee's plan worked, and Doug told Julie he couldn't leave Lee while she was paralyzed.

In 1981 the man who tried to murder Julie for Lee Dumonde returned after having plastic surgery and he called himself Brad. When Brad tried to kill Julie, Lee Dumonde managed to knock him down, but was knocked unconscious. Julie was shocked because everyone believed Lee was paralyzed. As Brad went to kill Julie Lee woke up and shot him dead. Lee was put into Bayview Sanitarium afterwards, and Julie and Doug resumed their relationship.

After divorcing Lee Dumonde in 1981, Julie and Doug were married again. However, Lee managed to turn little Hope against her father and Julie, and she refused to live with them, instead choosing to live with Tom and Alice Horton.

In 1982 Julie and Doug became involved in an adventure involving titanium deposits. A set of geological maps showed titanium deposits underneath Doug's place, and both Stefano and Stuart Whyland wanted to get their hands on the. Stefano and Tony had constructed a tunnel from the DiMera mansion to the wine cellar of Doug's place in order to get the deposits, but in the end the entire titanium deposits ended up being a hoax.

When Renee DiMera was killed, David was the first suspect, prompting Julie to confess. They were both cleared, but Julie lost her son when he left Salem. In 1986 Julie and Doug divorced once again, and both left Salem. Julie returned to Salem in 1990 and was determined to bring down Victor Kiriakis. Julie had a battle with Nick over his nightclub Wings. Though Nick bought the club, Julie still owned the land it was on and was a constant nuisance to Nick.

Still without the diary of his late wife Loretta, Ernesto planned a cruise in which he plotted to pay back all his enemies and recover the diary. Ernesto invited Roman II/John Black, Isabella, Victor Kiriakis, Julie Williams, Jack Deveraux, Jennifer Horton, and Bo and Hope Brady. Onboard the ship, Ernesto was reunited with his daughter Isabella. Their host was a mystery to all but Victor, who knew Ernesto well. Deciding that the truth had to be known, Jack returned the missing pages of Ernesto's diary to Isabella. Isabella learned that she was Victor's child. Isabella told this to her father and then confessed to killing Marina. Ernesto claimed he did not love her any less, but secretly he despised her and felt she truly was the daughter of Kiriakis.

Ernesto escaped his ship with Isabella and fled to a nearby Island. There he held Isabella prisoner and slowly poisoned her as he had done to her mother. A bomb exploded aboard the cruise ship and miraculously the passengers found their way to the island. On the island, Jack and Jennifer made love. Roman II/John Black sought to find Isabella because he knew she would be in grave danger. John and Bo set out to search the island and Hope followed Bo against his wishes. John made it to Toscano's house and rescued Isabella.

However, Ernesto had captured Hope and was holding her prison. Everyone was lured to a cave where Ernesto held Hope with him in a cage that suspended a vat of acid. Ernesto offered Bo the chance to save Hope if he could convince him that she should be spared. Bo made a moving speech to Hope, but it failed to move Ernesto. Suddenly and explosion occurred which sent the cage crashing down into the vat of acid. Both Ernesto and Hope vanished and were declared dead after hours of searching the island. Shane eventually arrived and everyone was escorted back to Salem.

In late 1990, Julie's partner Nick was murdered. In Nick's will he left the club to Julie and his money to Eve Donovan. However, Eve was not allowed to have the money until she was married. Eve eventually married Jack Deveraux to get her fortune.

In 1991, Julie befriended Molly Brinker and allowed her to stay at her penthouse. Julie also gave Molly a job working at Wings.

In 1992, Julie was nearly killed after a bomb planted at a museum party by Raffi Torres exploded. Julie was caught in the blast, but lived after a life saving procedure was performed by Dr. Chip Lakin, who she later dated.

In 1993, Julie left Salem and would later return for special events. Julie also re-married Doug. Since then, Julie and Doug have been seen only as needed.

Julie and Doug came back to town for a visit in 2004 and were soon enmeshed in the serial killer storyline. Julie was devastated when Doug was killed by the serial killer, and began focusing herself on helping Mickey get over Maggie while keeping him from his avaricious housekeeper Bonnie. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep the two from running off to get married. When Doug turned up alive and well Julie was in seventh heaven, and now she and Doug are trying to help Maggie get Mickey back. It's made all the harder because Mickey is now legally married to Bonnie. After some convincing, Mickey decided to stay with Maggie.

In the summer of 2006, Doug and Julie came to town to discover that Lexie had been kept prisoner in the tunnels underneath the old "Doug's Place". They helped rescue Lexie and nurse her back to health.

Doug and Julie returned the following summer for Bo and Hope's 4th of July BBQ with advice for Bo and Hope about dealing with Chelsea dating someone that they don't initially approve of. They returned a few weeks later to watch Bo and Hope renew their wedding vows.

Over the next few years, Julie and Doug continued to call Salem their home, but still traveled often. Unfortunately in 2010, Julie was dealt two painful blows. In January, her Uncle Mickey passed away. Months later, in June, her beloved grandmother, Alice, died as well. Julie took her passing extremely hard, but Doug was there to support his wife and the rest of his family.

Julie continued to be a presence around Salem, supporting her family in times of need. This included Nick Fallon when he was up for parole. Julie championed his release, leading the charge that he had changed and needed a second chance. Nick was released on parole, but Nick had not changed. He had been raped in prison and was not ready to deal with the outside world. He began blackmailing people, focusing on his cousin Will Horton, who was in a relationship with Sonny Kiriakis. Eventually, due to in insertion into Gabi and Will's custody agreement over Arianna, his enemy list grew to include Sami, Kate, E.J., Gabi, Will, Sonny, Lucas, and Abigail. But Julie kept her faith in him through all of it.

One night Julie met Nick outside the Horton Town Square. He was distraught. Julie tried to cheer him up by telling him about the mistakes she'd made in the past too. She asked him to have dinner with her so they could talk some more. But, after Julie left, Nick was shot. He stumbled onto the square and collapsed into Julie's arms. Julie was heartbroken.

Julie was determined to see Nick's killer come to justice. When Gabi Hernandez confessed, Julie was livid and would not forgive her, even though she knew how horrible Nick had been to her. Gabi went to prison for the murder, but was released a few years later due to an error in her sentencing. Julie took every chance to make Gabi's life miserable.

Their feud escalated when Gabi began dating Julie's grandson, Eli. Julie even faked a heart attack to make everyone think that Gabi had caused it. But, Eli soon saw both sides of the Gabi/Julie feud and refused to pick sides.

Julie's relationship with Eli continued to grow. When he was rescued after a plane crash, she purchased the Martin House and gave it to him as a present.