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| Since her screen debut in the late 80s, Julia Roberts has been among Hollywood's top draws. Though not always taken seriously as a dramatic actress, Roberts' onscreen charisma has guaranteed her an enviable choice of roles, be they in comedy or drama. Like Audrey Hepburn before her, Roberts possesses an atypical beauty that has translated into widespread audience appeal. Unlike Hepburn, Roberts projects a gal-next-door wholesomeness rather than an air of cool sophistication, something that is reflected in her coltish good looks and impossibly wide, toothy grin Born October 28, 1967 in Smyrna, Georgia, 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 Eric who led the way, breaking into film in 1978 when Julia was eleven. Roberts moved to New York after high school, but despite landing an agent, did not find film work right away. She made her film debut playing a supporting role opposite her brother in Blood Red, which, although completed in 1986, was not released until 1989. Roberts 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), co-starring Lili Taylor and Annabeth Gish. Roberts' portrayal of a strong-headed pizza parlor waitress who seduces a wealthy preppie earned her acclaim, and led to her role in 1989's Steel Magnolias. As the doomed Shelby, Roberts played opposite Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine and Dolly Parton and earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal. With newfound stardom under her belt, Roberts attempted to branch off into more serious waters by playing a medical student who starts tinkering with life-after-death experiences in the uneven Flatliners (1990). During production, Roberts became involved with co-star Kiefer Sutherland, the first of her many high profile romances. Later in 1990, she had her greatest success to date starring opposite Richard Gere in Garry Marshall's sentimental romantic comedy Pretty Woman. The film was a runaway international hit and Roberts became a household name. But despite her sudden rise to superstardom, Roberts' career faltered as her subsequent films, particularly Dying Young (1991), were of a decidedly uneven quality. After shooting her scenes as Tinker Bell in Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991), Roberts took some time off to repair her personal life, which was in disarray following her much-publicized break-up with Sutherland. Her self-imposed exile was broken briefly by a small appearance in Robert Altman's The Player (1992). In 1993, Roberts 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 began to rebound the following year with I Love Trouble and Pret-a -Porter, but both films proved to be critical and commercial disappointments. Roberts' bad luck continued when her much-anticipated Mary Reilly (1996) fizzled at the box office, but her 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. |
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