Julie Anne Robinson's upbringing involved time spent not only in her native England, but also Africa and Papua New Guinea. She got her professional start working in the theatre, including with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and she subsequently directed nearly a dozen Shakespearean works via her own company, The Factory. Around the turn of the century, Robinson enrolled in the BBC directors' training course. She was soon working on programmes such as Doctors, Blackpool and Holby City; she earned her first producing credits on the latter as well. Around the mid-2000s, Robinson sought work in Hollywood, and she began directing for the likes of Grey's Anatony, Weeds and Pushing Daisies.

Now working primarily in the United States, Robinson's television credits during the 2010s included Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Suburgatory, Manhattan and The Good Place. Her first feature film was 2010's The Last Song starring Miley Cyrus; the Katherine Heigl vehicle One For The Money followed in 2012. Robinson founded CannyLads Productions, and she collaborated with Victoria Fea to form the British-based Longboat Pictures. By the mid-2010s, she was regularly earning executive producer credits, initially on the pilot episode of Selfie starring former Doctor Who companion Karen Gillan. Amongst the other shows on which Robinson worked in this capacity were I Feel Bad -- for which she was also a director -- and The Catch. During the Twenties, her projects included episodes of Bridgerton and Partner Track. Robinson made a rare return to the United Kingdom to direct for Doctor Who, with her episodes expected to air in 2024.