Content Warning: This section of the guide details substance use, heavy alcohol consumption, physical and emotional abuse, domestic and intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and death by suicide.

Julia Fox is the author of the memoir. She is a writer, model, photographer, and designer. Because Down the Drain is an autobiographical work, Fox presents her experiences from her first-person point of view throughout the text. When referring to Julia Fox in the context of her recollected narrative experiences, this guide refers to her as Julia.

Julia was born in Italy. She moves to New York City to live with her dad, Tom Fox, when she is six years old. Her mother, who remains unnamed throughout the memoir, stays behind in Italy with Julia’s younger brother, Chris. Therefore, Julia is left to fend for herself when her dad proves negligent, dismissive, and abusive. Julia learns to care for herself, make friends, and have fun independently from a young age. She wants to see her dad as a hero but soon discovers that he “just can’t be honest” and is “nothing more than just another flawed human being” (26).