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.