Julia Roberts - the biography
Biography
Julia Roberts will receive a
healthy salary for her next movie. In fact, that remuneration will make her the
first woman to break the “$20 million hump” broken years ago by male stars. The
gal’s earned it, for seven of her films have surpassed the $100 million mark
(hey, that’s more some of those guys’ flicks!), and her performances are
consistent audience favorites. Robert’s “atypical beauty” -- clear-eyed
sparkle, wholesome wide grin and charismatic presence — marks her as
Hollywood’s “Girl Next Door Superstar.” Atypical as well was her road to
success. After high school graduation, Roberts left her native Georgia and
joined her actor-sister in New York. At age 19 she was cast as her actor-brother’s
on-screen sister in the 1986 movie, Blood Red (released in 1989). She went on
to roles in Firehouse (1987), Crime Story (TV - 1988), Satisfaction (TV -
1988), Before Your Eyes: Angelie’s Secret (TV - 1988), Baja Oklahoma (TV -
1988), and Miami Vice (TV episode - 1988). For her part in Mystic Pizza (1988)
she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Important and
award-winning roles in blockbuster pictures followed with Steel Magnolias (1989
- Golden Globe award and Oscar nomination), Pretty Woman (1990 - Oscar
nomination and British Academy award nomination), Flatliners (1990), Sleeping
With The Enemy (1991), and Dying Young (1991 - MTV Movie award nomination).
Darkness descended. Roberts next role, in Hook (1991), was panned by critics
and nominated for a Razzie Worst Supporting Actress slam. A breakup with fiancé
Keifer Sutherland just days before the planned wedding was among the gossip
column-fodder personal problems that led to a year of seclusion and naught but
a cameo appearance in one film, The Player (1992). Light dawned. Roberts
breathed new life into her career in 1993 with The Pelican Brief (for which she
received an MTV Movie award). She married singer/songwriter/actor Lyle Lovett
the same year, but the media-dubbed “pretty woman - ugly duckling” couple
lasted only 21 months. She took on roles in Pret-a-Porter (1994), I Love
Trouble (1994), A Century of Cinema (TV - 1994), Something To Talk About
(1995), Michael Collins (1996), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), and Mary
Reilly (1996 - oops, another Razzie nomination). The next three years were very
good: Roberts was cast in My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997 - netting her a Golden
Globe nomination, Golden Satellite award, People’s Choice award, Blockbuster
Entertainment award and MTV Movie award), Conspiracy Theory (1997 - Blockbuster
Entertainment award), Stepmom (1998 - Roberts not only acted her way to a
Blockbuster Entertainment award, but was the successful film’s executive
producer), Notting Hill (1999 - Golden Globe nomination and People’s Choice
award), and Runaway Bride (1999). As well, Roberts was nominated for an Emmy
for a guest appearance on the television series Law and Order (1999), and has
three times been on People Magazine’s Best-Dressed list. Upcoming for this
popular and talented producer/actor are roles in Erin Brockovich, The
Moviegoer, The Women, and, tentatively, Beyond Borders, Oceans II, The Mexican,
To Catch A Thief, Martha and Arthur, and From Alice to Ocean. Roberts is on top
of the Hollywood heap, and no matter how high the salaries go, the good-as-gold
performer is worth every penny.
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