Julia Roberts Early Life and Career Beginnings:
Born in Smyrna on October 28, 1967, Julia Roberts is an American actress who rose to prominence in the 1990s and early 2000s thanks to her outstanding performances in a variety of roles.
Julia Roberts had no professional acting training or experience when she relocated to New York City after high school to pursue a career in show business, despite the fact that her parents had temporarily operated an acting studio during her childhood. She joined a modeling agency after moving there, but she had trouble finding employment.
She got her first movie part when her older brother, actor Eric Roberts, suggested that she play his on-screen sister in the historical drama Blood Red. The film was finished in 1986, but it wasn’t released for a number of years. Before winning her first significant role in Mystic Pizza, she went on to act in a number of television series.
Breakthrough With Steel Magnolias and Pretty Woman:
When Julia Roberts was cast in Steel Magnolias, her career really took off. Legendary actresses including Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, and Shirley MacLaine appeared in the movie. Roberts’ poignant depiction of Field’s diabetic daughter won her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
She starred in the romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990), which followed the romance between a wealthy businessman (played by Richard Gere) and a prostitute. Due to the film’s enormous success, Roberts became well-known and was nominated for another Academy Award.
Major Success Throughout the 1990s:
Flatliners, Sleeping with the Enemy, The Pelican Brief, Something to Talk About, Mary Reilly, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Stepmom—for which she also acted as executive producer—were just a few of the big movies Roberts constantly worked on throughout the 1990s. Her personal life occasionally garnered as much attention as her acting career, especially in 1995 when her widely reported marriage to artist Lyle Lovett abruptly dissolved.
Julia Roberts starred in two popular romantic comedies in 1999: Notting Hill and Runaway Bride, which brought her and Richard Gere back together.
Oscar-Winning Performance in Erin Brockovich:
Julia Roberts made news in 2000 when she founded her own production business, Shoelace Productions, and won $20 million for the lead part in Erin Brockovich. The movie, which is based on a true event, centers on a law office clerk who assists locals in a California village in obtaining a sizable compensation against a utility corporation that is alleged to have contaminated the water supply. Roberts’ outstanding performance earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Later, she starred in the popular films Ocean’s Eleven and its follow-up Ocean’s Twelve with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and Matt Damon. Closer, a romantic drama, also starred her.
Broadway Debut and Later Film Career:
Julia Roberts provided the voice of Charlotte, the spider in the 2006 animated version of Charlotte’s Web. In the same year, she debuted on Broadway with Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd in the play Three Days of Rain. Despite the play’s mixed reviews, it was a significant turning point in her career.
Later, Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks reunited in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War, which was based on actual events involving the US government’s 1980s support of Afghan resistance fighters fighting the Soviet Union. The family drama was one of her latter endeavors. The romantic comedy Valentine’s Day, the corporate espionage thriller Duplicity, and Fireflies in the Garden.
Continued Success in the 2010s:
Julia Roberts collaborated with Tom Hanks once more on Larry Crowne, in which she portrayed a community college lecturer, after starring in Eat Pray Love, which was based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir. She played the Evil Queen in Mirror Mirror, a humorous adaptation of the Snow White tale.
Later, she costarred with Meryl Streep in August: Osage County, a family drama based on a play by Tracy Letts. Roberts’ performance as the daughter of Streep’s intensely critical character earned her another Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress.
Roberts portrayed a physician assisting gay men in New York City during the early stages of the AIDS epidemic in The Normal Heart. Larry Kramer’s play served as the inspiration for the movie.
Television Roles and Recent Projects:
Roberts played an FBI agent whose daughter is raped and killed in Secret in Their Eyes. Later, she played a shrewd businesswoman in the ensemble comedy Mother’s Day. In the Jodie Foster-directed film Money Monster, Roberts portrayed the producer of a financial television program whose staff is kidnapped along with George Clooney’s host.
Roberts acted in Wonder as the mother of a youngster with a unique facial ailment and provided the voice of Smurfs: The Lost Village in 2017. She played a psychiatrist at a clinic that assists veterans in reintegrating into civilian life in Homecoming, her television series debut the following year. In Ben Is Back, she played a mother whose son leaves rehab to spend Christmas at home.
Later, Roberts made an appearance in the 2022 TV miniseries Gaslit. In the romantic comedy Ticket to Paradise, which centers on a divorced couple attempting to prevent their daughter’s marriage, she reconnected with George Clooney in the same year.
Charity Work and Documentary Projects:
Roberts has contributed to many charity causes throughout her career, such as the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and UNICEF. She lived with Mongolian nomads for many weeks while filming Wild Horses of Mongolia and narrated the documentary In the Wild: Orangutans with Julia Roberts in an effort to raise awareness about endangered animals. American television aired both documentaries.