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JULIA
ROBERTS
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Between
the late '80s and early '90s, Julia Roberts was among Hollywood's top
draws. Though not always taken seriously as a dramatic actress -- indeed
she is at her best in romantic comedy or light drama -- Roberts has a
special mischievous charm coupled with a wide-eyed vulnerability that
translates into a screen charisma reminiscent of a young Audrey Hepburn.
Like Hepburn, Roberts possesses an atypical beauty. Pencil thin, long-legged
and sporting a thick curly mane of auburn hair upon her head, she is more
coltish than elegant. Her great hazel eyes and impossibly large mouth
are capable of much expression, particularly joy when she cuts loose with
a broad grin and a braying laugh. Unlike Hepburn, Roberts projects a gal-next-door
wholesomeness rather than an air of cool sophistication.
A born Southerner, Roberts grew up hanging around the theater people who
attended her parents' Actors and Writers Workshop in their Atlanta home.
Both she and her brother Eric Roberts were interested in acting and it
was he who made it to movies first.
Roberts moved to New York after high school, but did not catch a break
right away even though she did manage to score an agent. She made her
film debut playing a supporting role opposite her brother in Blood Red,
which though completed in 1986 was not released until 1989. She appeared
in a couple of made-for-TV movies and one low-budget feature, Firehouse
(1987) before getting her first real break in the made-for-cable drama
Satisfaction (1988). This led to a large supporting role in Mystic Pizza
(1989). Her portrayal of a strong-headed pizza parlor co-owner who seduces
a wealthy preppie earned Roberts acclaim and led to her playing the doomed
Shelby opposite Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Dolly Parton in the
melodramatic comedy Steel Magnolias (1989). Her portrayal earned Roberts
an Oscar nomination and made her a star. For her next film, Roberts attempted
to branch off into more serious waters playing a medical student who starts
tinkering with life-after-death experiences with four other medical students
in the uneven Flatliners (1990). During production, Roberts became involved
with co-star Kiefer Sutherland. Later in 1990, she had her greatest success
to date starring opposite Richard Gere in Garry Marshall's sentimental
romantic- comedy Pretty Woman (1990). The film was a runaway international
hit and Roberts became a household name. But despite her sudden rise to
superstardom, her career faltered as her subsequent films, particularly
Dying Young (1991), have been of uneven quality. Matters weren't helped
when her break-up with Sutherland went public. After shooting her scenes
as Tinker Bell in Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991), Roberts took some time
off to repair her personal life, though she did appear briefly in Robert
Altman's The Player (1992). In 1993, she married off-beat country singer
Lyle Lovett (they amicably divorced two years later) and then made a successful
come back in The Pelican Brief (1993). Her career picked up the following
year with I Love Trouble and Pret-a -Porter, neither of which did much
to further her career. The much-heralded Mary Reilly (1996) was a box-office
fizzle, but Roberts career began picking up again with Michael Collins
and Conspiracy Theory (both 1996). In 1997, Roberts made a triumphant
return to romantic comedy in the darkly funny My Best Friend's Wedding,
and continued her romantic comedy upswing in 1999 with Notting Hill and
Runaway Bride. Although the latter of these--the much-anticipated sequel
to Pretty Woman--proved to be a disappointment, both films helped to further
restore Roberts to her status as the most bankable woman in Hollywood.
This status was further demonstrated with the $20 million--the highest
salary ever paid to a screen actress to date-- she received to star as
the eponymous heroine of Steven Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich in 2000.
The film, about a secretary (Roberts) who exposes a major environmental
scandal, turned out to be one of Roberts' most successful projects to
date. Enthusiastically embraced by critics and audiences alike, Brockovich
won Roberts both the Golden Globes' Best Actress in a drama award and
the Best Actress Oscar at the 2000 Academy Awards. Her last movies are
"The Mexican", "Ocean's Eleven" and "Full Frontal".
JULIA, IDENTITY CARD:
BIRTH
NAME:
Julie Fiona Roberts
BIRTHDATE:
October 28, 1967
BIRTHPLACE:
Smyrna, Georgia
EDUCATION:
High School (Campbell HS)
OCCUPATIONS:
Actor, Model, Producer
QUOTE:
"I'm too tall to be a girl. I'm between a chick and a broad."
FAMILY:
Father: Walter Roberts (Rob Roberts), vacuum-cleaner salesman,
actor, writer
Mother: Betty Lou Roberts Motes, real-estate agent, church secretary,
actress
Brother: Eric Roberts, actor - born April 18, 1956
Sister: Lisa Roberts (Lisa Roberts Gillan), actress - born 1965
Half-sister: Nancy Motes - born 1976
MOVIES AND OTHER INTERPRETATIONS: 2002
- FULL FRONTAL
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS: 2002
(W) - People's Choice Award: Favorite Motion Picture Actress NOTE: (W) = Won award , (N) = Nomination |
