Which actress plays Julia Meade, Ethan Hunt’s wife, in the Mission: Impossible films?

Michelle Monaghan plays Julia Meade, Ethan Hunt’s wife, in the Mission: Impossible films.

Monaghan first appeared as Julia in Mission: Impossible III, released in 2006. Julia is introduced as a medical professional whose relationship with Ethan is initially hidden from the dangerous world of his missions. Her importance grows when Owen Davian uses her as leverage against Ethan.

The character returns in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Because Ethan’s work requires secrecy, the films use changes in identity and apparent deaths to complicate Julia’s relationship with him. This makes her role different from that of field agents such as Luther Stickell and Ilsa Faust.

Monaghan is sometimes confused with other prominent women in the series. Thandiwe Newton played Nyah Nordoff-Hall in Mission: Impossible II, while Rebecca Ferguson played Ilsa Faust beginning in Rogue Nation.