Julia Roberts is an American actress and producer who made her debut in the 1987 direct-to-video feature Firehouse . [1] She had her breakthrough the following year by starring in the coming-of-age film Mystic Pizza (1988). [2] [3] [4] For her supporting role in the comedy-drama Steel Magnolias (1989), she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. [5] [6] Roberts' next role was opposite Richard Gere in the highly successful romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990), [7] [8] for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy. [6] 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 . [9] [10] 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. [6] [11] [12] 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. [10] [13] 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. [9] 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 . [14]
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. [15] 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. [15]
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Firehouse | Babs | Uncredited; direct-to-video release | [1] [16] [17] |
1988 | Satisfaction | Daryle Shane | [18] | |
Mystic Pizza | Daisy Araújo | [19] | ||
1989 | Blood Red | Marisa Collogero | Filmed in 1986 | [17] [20] |
Steel Magnolias | Shelby Eatenton Latcherie | [21] | ||
1990 | Pretty Woman | Vivian Ward | [22] | |
Flatliners | Rachel Mannus | [23] | ||
1991 | Sleeping with the Enemy | Laura Williams Burney / Sara Waters | [24] | |
Dying Young | Hilary O'Neil | [25] | ||
Hook | Tinker Bell | [26] | ||
1992 | The Player | Herself | Cameo | [27] [28] |
1993 | The Pelican Brief | Darby Shaw | [29] | |
1994 | I Love Trouble | Sabrina Peterson | [30] | |
Prêt-à-Porter | Anne Eisenhower | [31] | ||
1995 | Something to Talk About | Grace King Bichon | [32] | |
1996 | Mary Reilly | Mary Reilly | [33] | |
Michael Collins | Kitty Kiernan | [34] | ||
Everyone Says I Love You | Von Sidell | [35] | ||
1997 | My Best Friend's Wedding | Julianne Potter | [36] | |
Conspiracy Theory | Alice Sutton | [37] | ||
1998 | Stepmom | Isabel Kelly | Also executive producer | [38] |
1999 | Notting Hill | Anna Scott | [39] | |
Runaway Bride | Maggie Carpenter | [40] | ||
2000 | Erin Brockovich | Erin Brockovich | [9] | |
2001 | The Mexican | Samantha Barzel | [41] | |
America's Sweethearts | Kiki Harrison | [42] | ||
Ocean's Eleven | Tess Ocean | [43] | ||
2002 | Grand Champion | Jolene | [44] [45] | |
Full Frontal | Francesca / Catherine | [46] | ||
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind | Patricia Watson | [47] | ||
2003 | Mona Lisa Smile | Katherine Ann Watson | [48] | |
2004 | Tell Them Who You Are | Herself | [49] | |
Closer | Anna Cameron | [50] | ||
Ocean's Twelve | Tess Ocean | [51] | ||
2006 | The Ant Bully | Hova | Voice | [52] |
Charlotte's Web | Charlotte | [53] | ||
2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | Joanne Herring | [54] | |
2008 | Fireflies in the Garden | Lisa Taylor | [55] [56] | |
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl | — | Executive producer | [57] | |
2009 | Duplicity | Claire Stenwick | [58] | |
2010 | Valentine's Day | Captain Kate Hazeltine | [59] | |
Eat Pray Love | Elizabeth Gilbert | [60] | ||
2011 | Jesus Henry Christ | — | Executive producer | [61] [62] |
Love, Wedding, Marriage | Ava's Therapist | Voice | [63] [64] | |
Larry Crowne | Mercedes Tainot | [65] | ||
2012 | Mirror, Mirror | Queen Clementianna | [66] | |
2013 | August: Osage County | Barbara Fordham | [9] [67] | |
2015 | Secret in Their Eyes | Jess Cobb | [68] | |
2016 | Mother's Day | Miranda Collins | [69] | |
Money Monster | Patty Fenn | [70] | ||
2017 | Smurfs: The Lost Village | Smurf Willow | Voice | [71] |
Wonder | Isabel Pullman | [72] | ||
2018 | Ben Is Back | Holly Burns | [73] | |
2022 | Ticket to Paradise | Georgia Cotton | Also executive producer | [74] |
2023 | Leave the World Behind | Amanda Sandford | Also producer | [75] |
2025 | After the Hunt † | Alma Olsson | Post-production | [76] |
TBA | Panic Carefully † | TBA | Filming | [77] |
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | Miami Vice | Polly Wheeler | Episode: "Mirror Image" | [78] |
Baja Oklahoma | Cannot Hutchins | Television film | [79] | |
1995 | Before Your Eyes: Angelie's Secret | Narrator | [80] | |
1996 | Friends | Susie Moss | Episode: "The One After the Superbowl" | [81] |
1998 | Murphy Brown | Herself | Episode: "Never Can Say Goodbye" | [82] [83] |
1999 | Law & Order | Katrina Ludlow | Episode: "Empire" | [15] [82] |
2000 | Silent Angels: The Rett Syndrome Story | Narrator | [84] | |
Nature | Herself | Episode: "Wild Horses of Mongolia with Julia Roberts" | [85] | |
2003 | Queens Supreme | — | Executive producer | [86] |
Freedom: A History of US | Virginia Eyewitness / Appleton's Journal | 2 episodes | [87] | |
2004 | Samantha: An American Girl Holiday | — | Executive producer; television film | [88] |
2005 | Felicity: An American Girl Adventure | — | [89] | |
2006 | Beslan: Three Days In September | Narrator | Documentary | [90] |
Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front | — | Executive producer; television film | [91] | |
2011 | Extraordinary Moms | Presenter | Documentary; also executive producer | [92] |
2014 | The Normal Heart | Dr. Emma Brookner | Television film | [93] |
Makers: Women Who Make America | Narrator | Episode: "Women in Hollywood" | [94] | |
2017 | Running Wild with Bear Grylls | Herself | Episode: "Julia Roberts" | [95] |
2018 | Homecoming | Heidi Bergman | 10 episodes; also executive producer | [96] |
2022 | Gaslit | Martha Mitchell | 8 episodes; also executive producer | [97] |
Year | Title | Role | Playwright | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Three Days of Rain | Nan / Lina | Richard Greenberg | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway | [98] |