Julia Roberts is an American actress and producer who made her debut in the 1987
direct-to-video feature
Firehouse. She had her breakthrough the following year by starring in the coming-of-age film
Mystic Pizza (1988). For her supporting role in the comedy-drama
Steel Magnolias (1989), she won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Roberts' next role was opposite
Richard Gere in the highly successful romantic comedy
Pretty Woman (1990), for which she won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy. In 1991, she appeared in the psychological thriller
Sleeping with the Enemy, and played
Tinker Bell in the
Steven Spielberg-directed fantasy adventure
Hook. Two years later, Roberts starred in the legal thriller
The Pelican Brief, an adaptation of the
John Grisham novel of the same name. During the late 1990s, she played the lead in the romantic comedies
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997),
Notting Hill (1999), and
Runaway Bride (1999).
In 2000, Roberts became the first actress to earn $20 million, for playing the eponymous environmental activist in the Steven Soderbergh-directed biographical film Erin Brockovich. Her performance won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Drama. The following year, she starred in the romantic comedy America's Sweethearts (2001), and reteamed with Soderbergh on the comedy heist remake Ocean's Eleven (2001). Roberts appeared in the 2003 drama, Mona Lisa Smile, which earned her a then record $25 million salary. The following year, she starred in the romantic drama Closer (2004), and also reprised her role in the sequel, Ocean's Twelve (2004). In 2006, she lent her voice to two animated films: The Ant Bully, and Charlotte's Web. Roberts went on to appear in the comedy-dramas Charlie Wilson's War (2007) and Eat Pray Love (2010), following which she starred in August: Osage County (2013), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2016, Roberts played a television producer in the thriller Money Monster and the following year, she played a mother coping with her son's Treacher Collins syndrome in the comedy-drama Wonder.
Roberts made her television debut in the drama series Crime Story in 1987. She appeared in the crime drama series Miami Vice, and the television film Baja Oklahoma (both in 1988). In 1996, Roberts guest starred on the television sitcom Friends. Her guest star appearance on the police procedural/legal drama Law & Order in 1999, earned Roberts a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. She has, as of 2014, served as an executive producer on four films in the American Girl film series. The first three were television films while the fourth, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, had a theatrical release in 2008. In 2014, Roberts provided narration for an episode of the documentary series Makers: Women Who Make America, and appeared in the film The Normal Heart. Her role in the latter earned Roberts a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.
Film
Roberts attending the premiere of Jesus Henry Christ in 2011
Key
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Denotes films that have not yet been released
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Television
Theatre
See also
