Julia Isabel was born in Mexico City on April 4, 1944. The daughter of Don Luis de Llano Palmer (a pioneer in Mexican radio and television) and actress Rita Macedo, she began her career at age 14 singing in the rock group The Spitfires, which earned her second place in a radio competition. As a result of this she was signed by CBS. From then on she recorded various rock hits and has participated in numerous soaps and in over 35 features films.
From a young age she began acting and producing plays, becoming one of Mexico's leading theater producers and importing Broadway shows such as "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Grease", "Joseph", "Pippin" and many others. She has also produced TV soaps and created the Onda Vaselina musical group. She is the mother of two of Mexico's greatest talents, singer Benny Ibarra and actor Alejandro Ibarra.