Born Iulia Negură in Piatra Neamţ, Romania, she made her debut at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 1987, coming in 50th place. She made her breakthrough three years later with a twelfth-place finish at the 1990 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, followed by a win at the IAAF World Women's Road Race Championships. She took a road win at the Foulées de Suresnes over 10 km in October. She made her global track debut at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo where she was 17th over 10,000 metres. She also managed three national titles over that distance in her career. She took a second world title over 15 km at the 1991 Women's Road Championships.