“Paradise” Star Julianne Nicholson Recalls Growing Up in Log Cabin Without Electricity, Running Water: 'We Used Candles'
“Paradise” Star Julianne Nicholson Recalls Growing Up in Log Cabin Without Electricity, Running Water: 'We Used Candles'
Natalia SenanayakeWed, March 4, 2026 at 9:47 PM UTC
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Julianne NicholsonCredit: LISA O'CONNOR / AFP via Getty -
Julianne Nicholson is recalling what it was like to grow up in a log cabin in Massachusetts without electricity or running water
Nicholson credits her unconventional childhood with toughening her up for roles that required filming in remote locations
She now lives in the English countryside with her husband Jonathan Cake and their two children
Julianne Nicholson is opening up about her unconventional upbringing and how it made her into a tougher person.
The Paradise actress, 54, recalled what it was like to grow up in a log cabin in the middle of the woods in Massachusetts while speaking to the Wall Street Journal for their “House Call” series. Nicholson explained that after her parents split and her mom remarried, her family then moved two hours outside of Boston to a town called Montague, where they decided to rent a cabin.
“We lived in a rented log cabin in the woods without electricity or running water. We used candles, pumped water and had an outhouse,” she recalled, adding that she was encouraged by her mom and stepdad to “fend for myself.”
Julianne NicholsonCredit: John Salangsang/Shutterstock
As her mom began to “open her mind to alternative medicine” and want a “more natural and organic way of life,” Nicholson notes how their unconventional living situation was a way for her family to live more simply: “My mom and stepdad wanted a deeper connection with the earth and to get away from the rat race."
Nicholson notes that although her parents didn’t have a lot of money, they were "resourceful" and made the home a great place for her to spend her childhood.
She adds, “My stepfather could build and install anything we needed, and my mom was a terrific gardener. They made the tiny cabin beautiful.”
The home was set in a secluded area on a hill, with trees surrounding it so the home was hidden from the bottom of the driveway, Nicholson says. She remembers the kind people at the “big communal farm down the road,” and how they became friends of their family.
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While she only lived in the cabin for a few years until she was 11, Nicholson believes “cabin living probably toughened me,” especially for roles that required her to rough it when she wasn’t filming.
“In 2016, the producers of a film we shot in the Colombian jungle feared they’d have to bring me up a mountain every night for cushy lodging. Apparently, the journey would have included a river raft and a donkey ride,” she recalls. “I said, ‘I’m good in a tent here overnight by myself.’ They looked relieved.”
Jonathan Cake and Julianne Nicholson with their two kidsCredit: Steven Ferdman/Getty
Today, Nicholson resides in the English countryside with her British actor husband Jonathan Cake. She and the And Just Like That… star live in a historic 1802 home with their two children, surrounded by “green and quiet,” she says.
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In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE last year, Nicholson expressed her appreciation for her husband ahead of the 2025 Emmys.
At the time, Nicholson was nominated for her role as Samantha "Sinatra" Redmond in Paradise for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. While The Pitt's Katherine LaNasa ended up winning, Nicholson said she would need her husband by her side ahead of the awards ceremony.
"Honestly, I can't do it without him," she told PEOPLE of Cake, whom she married in 2004. She also vowed to give him a proper shoutout in her acceptance speech if she ended up winning, as her husband got “short shrift” during her first Emmys speech, she said.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
