Julia Roberts first grabbed the public's attention as a small-town Connecticut teen in the 1988 film Mystic Pizza. After box office successes like Steel Magnolias (1989, with Dolly Parton) and Pretty Woman (1990, with Richard Gere), Roberts was among the highest paid actresses in the business and one of Hollywood's most bankable movie stars. In 2001 she won the Academy Award as best actress for playing the title role in the 2000 Steven Soderbergh film Erin Brockovich. That same year she appeared with Brad Pitt in The Mexican and Ocean's Eleven (also directed by Soderbergh). Her other films include My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Mona Lisa Smile (2003, with Kirsten Dunst), Closer (2004, with Clive Owen) and Ocean's Twelve (2004, with George Clooney).
Roberts made her Broadway debut in 2006, starring in the drama Three Days of Rain (also starring Bradley Cooper)... She is the sister of actor Eric Roberts... Julia Roberts married cameraman Daniel Molder on 4 July 2002; the couple met while filming the 2001 film The Mexican. Their twin children, Hazel and Phinnaeus, were born on 28 November 2004... Roberts previously was married to singer Lyle Lovett from 1993 through 1995. She has been engaged to, but did not marry, actors Kiefer Sutherland and Dylan McDermott, and dated actor Benjamin Bratt from 1997-2001.
"I wouldn't do nudity in films. To act with my clothes on is a performance. To act with my clothes off is a documentary."
"What's nice about my dating life is that I don't have to leave my house. All I have to do is read the paper: I'm marrying Richard Gere, dating Daniel Day-Lewis, parading around with John F. Kennedy, Jr., and even Robert De Niro was in there for a day."
Born during the late '60s, Georgia native Julia Roberts was raised in a fervently pro-theater environment. Her parents regularly hosted acting and writing workshops, and both of the Roberts children (Julia and her brother Eric) showed an interest in the performing arts at an early age. Ironically enough, Eric was the first to break into film; in 1978, one year after their father died of lung cancer at 47, Eric Roberts starred in director Frank Pierson's psychological drama King of the Gypsies. Though her older brother would go on to have a solid acting career, it was, of course, Julia Roberts who earned a spot among Hollywood's elite.
After making her film debut in Blood Red -- which wouldn't be released until 1989, despite having been completed in 1986 -- and appearing in several late '80s television features, Roberts got her first real break in the 1988 made-for-cable drama Satisfaction. That role, consequently, led to her first significant supporting role -- a feisty pizza parlor waitress in 1989's Mystic Pizza with Annabeth Gish, Lili Taylor, and a then 19-year-old Matt Damon. While Mystic Pizza was not a star-making film for Roberts, it certainly helped earn her the credentials she needed to land the part of Shelby, an ill-fated would-be mother in Steel Magnolias. The 1989 tearjerker found her acting alongside Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine, and culminated in an Oscar nomination for Roberts.
While the success of Steel Magnolias played no small part in launching Roberts' career, and undoubtedly secured her role in the mediocre Flatliners (1990) with former flame Kiefer Sutherland, it was director Garry Marshall's romantic comedy Pretty Woman with Richard Gere that served as her true breakthrough role. Roberts' part in Pretty Woman (a good-hearted prostitute who falls in love with a millionaire client) made the young actress a household name and cemented what would become a permanent spot in tabloid fodder. Roberts broke off her engagement with Sutherland in 1991, just three days before they were scheduled to be married, and surprised the American public in 1993, when she began her two-year marriage to country singer Lyle Lovett. Roberts' personal life kept her name in the spotlight despite a host of uneven performances throughout the early '90s (neither 1991's Dying Young or Sleeping With the Enemy garnered much acclaim), as did a reputed feud with Steven Spielberg during the filming of Hook (1991).
Roberts' biggest success didn't present itself until 2000, though, when she delivered an Oscar-winning performance playing the title role in Steven Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich. The film, based on the true story of Erin Brockovich, a single mother who, against all odds, won a heated battle against corporate environmental offenders, earned Roberts a staggering 20-million-dollar salary. Officially the highest paid actress in Hollywood, Roberts went on to star in 2001's America's Sweethearts with Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and John Cusack, as well as The Mexican with Brad Pitt. While on the set of The Mexican, Roberts met cameraman Danny Moder, whom she would marry in 2001 almost immediately after ending a four-year relationship with fellow actor Benjamin Bratt. Indeed, 2001 was a banner year for Roberts; in addition to America's Sweethearts and The Mexican, Roberts starred in the crime caper Ocean's Eleven, in which she rejoined former co-stars Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, and acted for the first time with George Clooney and Don Cheadle.
In the coming years, Roberts would reteam with Tom Hanks for Charlie Wilson's War in 2007, and then again for Larry Crowne in 2011. In the meantime, the A-lister would keep busy with a critically acclaimed performance in 2010's Eat, Pray, Love as a divorcee on a journey of self discovery.
Roberts had become one of the highest-paid actresses in the world, topping the Hollywood Reporter's annual "power list" of top-earning female stars from 2005 to 2006. Her fee for 1990's Pretty Woman was $300,000;[2] in 2003, she was paid an unprecedented $25 million for her role in Mona Lisa Smile (2003). As of 2010, Roberts's net worth was estimated to be $140 million.[3]
Roberts has been named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" eleven times, tied with Halle Berry. In 2011, she was named one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" by Men's Health.[4] In 2001, Ladies Home Journal ranked her as the 11th most powerful woman in America, ahead of then national security advisor Condoleezza Rice and former first lady Laura Bush.[5][clarification needed][dead link] Roberts has a production company called Red Om Films.
Roberts was born in Atlanta, Georgia, at Crawford Long Hospital (now Emory University Hospital Midtown), to Betty Lou (née Bredemus) and Walter Grady Roberts.[6][7] She is of English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, German, and Swedish descent.[8][9] Her parents were Baptist and Catholic,[10] and she was raised Catholic.[11][12] Her older brother Eric Roberts (from whom she was estranged until 2004), sister Lisa Roberts Gillan, and niece Emma Roberts, are also actors. Julia's parents, one-time actors and playwrights, met while performing theatrical productions for the armed forces and later co-founded the Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia, off Juniper Street in Midtown. While her mother was pregnant with Julia, she and her husband ran an acting school for children in Decatur, Georgia. The children of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King attended the school. As a thank-you for their service, Mrs. King paid the hospital bill when Julia's mother gave birth to Julia.[13] Julia's mother filed for divorce in 1971, with the divorce being finalized early in 1972.[14] The family moved to Smyrna, Georgia in 1972, where Roberts attended Fitzhugh Lee Elementary School, Griffin Middle School, and Campbell High School.[15] Her mother married Michael Motes and had daughter Nancy Motes in 1976. Julia's father died of cancer when she was ten.[16]
Roberts wanted to be a veterinarian as a child. She played clarinet in the band in school. After graduating from Smyrna's Campbell High School, she headed to New York to pursue a career in acting. Once there, she signed with the Click Modeling Agency and enrolled in acting classes. She reverted to her original name, "Julia Roberts",[clarification needed Reverted from what to Julia?] when she discovered that a "Julie Roberts" already was registered with the Screen Actors Guild.[16]
Career
1986–1989
Roberts made her first big screen appearance in the film Satisfaction (1988), released on February 12, 1988, alongside Liam Neeson and Justine Bateman, as a band member looking for a summer gig. She had previously performed a small role opposite her brother, Eric, in Blood Red (1986) (she has two words of dialogue), filmed in 1987 and released in 1989. Her first television appearance was as a juvenile rape victim in the initial season of the series Crime Story with Dennis Farina, in the episode titled "The Survivor", broadcast on February 13, 1987. Her first critical success with moviegoers was her performance in the independent film Mystic Pizza in 1988;[17] that same year, she had a role in the fourth season finale of Miami Vice. In 1989, she was featured in Steel Magnolias, as a young bride with diabetes, and received both her first Academy Award nomination (as Best Supporting Actress) and first Golden Globe Award win (Motion Picture Best Supporting Actress) for her performance.[17]
In 2001 Roberts received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Erin Brockovich, who helped wage a successful lawsuit against energy giant Pacific Gas & Electric. While presenting the Best Actor Award to Denzel Washington the following year she made a gaffe, saying she was glad that Tom Conti wasn't there. She meant the conductor, Bill Conti, who had tried to hasten the conclusion of her Oscar speech the previous year, but instead named the Scottish actor.[29] Roberts teamed with Erin Brockovich director Steven Soderbergh for three more films: Ocean's Eleven (2001), Full Frontal (2002), and Ocean's Twelve (2004). Later in 2001 she starred in the road gangster comedy, The Mexican, giving her a chance to work with long-time friend, Brad Pitt. In 2005 she was featured in the music video for the hit single "Dreamgirl" by the Dave Matthews Band; it was her first music video appearance.[30]
Deployed troops show Julia Roberts the controls of an F-15.
Roberts made her Broadway debut on April 19, 2006 as Nan in a revival of Richard Greenberg's 1997 play Three Days of Rain opposite Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd. Although the play grossed nearly US$1 million dollars in ticket sales during its first week[31] and was a commercial success throughout its limited run, her performance drew criticism. New York Times' critic Ben Brantly described her as being fraught with "self-consciousness (especially in the first act) [and] only glancingly acquainted with the two characters she plays."[32] Brantley also criticized the production of "Greenberg's slender, elegant play," writing that “it's almost impossible to discern its artistic virtues from this wooden and splintered interpretation, directed by Joe Mantello."[32]Three Days of Rain received two Tony Award nominations in stagecraft categories. In 2009, Lancôme announced that Roberts would become their global ambassador for their company.[33] Julia starred with Clive Owen in the comedy-thriller Duplicity for which she received her seventh Golden Globe nomination. In 2010, she appeared in the ensemble romantic comedy Valentine's Day, with Cooper, and starred in the film adaptation of Eat Pray Love. Eat Pray Love[34] had the highest debut at the box office for Roberts in a top-billed role since America's Sweethearts.[35] Later in the year, she signed a five-year extension with Lancôme for GB£32 million (US$50 million).[36] In 2011, she co-starred as Mercedes Tainot opposite Tom Hanks who directed and played the title role in the romantic comedy Larry Crowne.[37] The movie has received generally bad reviews with only 35% of the 175 Rotten Tomatoes reviews giving it high ratings,[38] although Roberts' comedic performance was praised.[39] Roberts will appear in the 2012Tarsem Singh adaptation of Snow White, called Mirror Mirror playing the Evil Queen.[40]
American Girl films
Roberts has brought to life some of the books from American Girl as films, serving as executive producer alongside her sister Lisa. The company's product lines and services are focused on pre-teen-girl characters from various periods of American history, embodied as dolls and featured in narratives including books and movies. Roberts has produced four movies.[41]
Personal life
Relationships
Roberts has had reported romantic relationships with numerous famous men, including Liam Neeson, Dylan McDermott, Kiefer Sutherland,[42]Jason Patric,[43]Lyle Lovett, Matthew Perry, and Benjamin Bratt. She was briefly engaged to McDermott, her Steel Magnolias co-star, whom she broke up with during the making of Pretty Woman. Her subsequent engagement and breakup with Kiefer Sutherland led to Roberts' suffering from "mental issues" according to director Steven Spielberg on the set of the film Hook.[44] She met Sutherland in 1990, when he was her co-star in Flatliners. In August 1990, Roberts and Sutherland announced their engagement, with an elaborate studio-planned wedding scheduled for June 14, 1991. Roberts broke the engagement three days before the wedding. Roberts subsequently went to Ireland with Jason Patric, a friend of Sutherland's.[45] On June 25, 1993, she married country singer Lyle Lovett. The wedding took place at St. James Lutheran Church in Marion, Indiana, near where Lovett was appearing on tour with his band.[46] In March 1995, the couple separated, and subsequently divorced.[47]
In 1998, Roberts began dating Law & Order star Benjamin Bratt, and he was her escort for the March 25, 2001 Academy Awards ceremony at which she won her Oscar. Three months later, in June 2001, Roberts and Bratt announced that they were no longer a couple. "It's come to a kind and tenderhearted end," she said of their relationship.[48]
Roberts met her current husband, cameraman Daniel Moder, on the set of her film The Mexican in 2000, while she was still dating Bratt. At the time, Moder was married to Vera Steimberg Moder. He filed for divorce a little over a year later, and after it was finalized, he and Roberts wed on July 4, 2002, at her ranch in Taos, New Mexico.[49] Together, they have three children, twins Hazel Patricia Moder and Phinnaeus "Finn" Walter Moder (born November 28, 2004) and Henry Daniel Moder (born June 18, 2007).[50]
Beliefs
Roberts disclosed in a 2010 interview for Elle magazine that she believes in and practices Hinduism.[51][52][53] Roberts is a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj-ji). A picture of Neem Karoli Baba drew Roberts to Hinduism.[54]
Charities
Roberts has given her time and resources to UNICEF as well as to other charitable organizations. On May 10, 1995, Roberts arrived in Port-au-Prince, as she said, "to educate myself".[55][56] The poverty she found was overwhelming. "My heart is just bursting", she said.[55] UNICEF officials hoped that her six-day visit would trigger an outburst of giving: $10 million in aid was sought at the time.[55][56]
In 2000, Roberts narrated Silent Angels, a documentary about Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder, which was shot in Los Angeles, Baltimore and New York. The documentary was designed to help raise public awareness about the disease. In July 2006, Earth Biofuels announced Roberts as a spokeswoman for the company and as chair of the company's newly formed Advisory Board promoting the use of renewable fuels.
^White, Stuart; Morgan, Gary (1996-01-14). "Julia's faxed up with new fella (And Hollywood's Pretty Woman can't keep her hands off him)". News of the World: p. 25.
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