A small snippet from The Official Lost MagazineCo-executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz reveal: It was exciting to show [Juliet's] backstory. What you see on this island is a very strong woman, and in her backstory she was a little timid and was getting bullied -- so you see the evolution of her character from that.
Source: The Official Lost Magazine, Issue #9, March/April 2007