Words by Few smiles in movie history are as famous as Julia Roberts’. For more than three decades she has been one of Hollywood’s most bankable and best-loved actresses, moving from romantic comedy to serious drama and, more recently, prestige television.
Early life
Julia Fiona Roberts was born on Oct. 28, 1967, in Smyrna, Georgia. Her parents ran an acting and writing workshop in Atlanta. Her older brother, Eric Roberts, became an actor, and her niece, Emma Roberts, is an actress as well.
After high school, Roberts moved to New York to pursue modeling and acting.
Breakthrough
Roberts earned early notice in “Mystic Pizza” (1988), then received her first Academy Award nomination for “Steel Magnolias” (1989), playing a young bride with diabetes alongside Sally Field, Dolly Parton and Shirley MacLaine. She won a Golden Globe for the role.
The next year, “Pretty Woman” (1990), opposite Richard Gere, made her a global star. The film was one of the biggest hits of the year and brought her a second Oscar nomination and another Golden Globe.
The 1990s
Roberts became one of the most popular actresses of the decade, starring in thrillers such as “Sleeping with the Enemy” and “The Pelican Brief” and romantic comedies including “My Best Friend’s Wedding” (1997) and “Notting Hill” (1999), opposite Hugh Grant. “Runaway Bride” (1999) reunited her with Gere.
By the end of the decade she was widely reported to be the first actress to command $20 million per film.
The Oscar
In “Erin Brockovich” (2000), Roberts played the real-life legal clerk and single mother who helped build a major case against a utility company over contaminated water in California. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film earned her the Academy Award for best actress, along with a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Later films
Roberts joined the ensemble of Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) and “Ocean’s Twelve.” She starred in “Mona Lisa Smile,” “Closer,” “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “Eat Pray Love” (2010), the adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir.
She received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for “August: Osage County” (2013), opposite Meryl Streep. Later films include “Wonder” (2017), “Ben Is Back” (2018), “Ticket to Paradise” (2022) with George Clooney, “Leave the World Behind” (2023) and “After the Hunt” (2025).
Television
Roberts earned an Emmy nomination for the HBO film “The Normal Heart” (2014). She made her series debut in Amazon’s psychological thriller “Homecoming” (2018) and played Martha Mitchell in the Watergate drama “Gaslit” (2022).
Personal life
Roberts married cinematographer Daniel Moder in 2002 after meeting him on the set of “The Mexican.” They have three children: twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, born in 2004, and Henry, born in 2007. She was earlier married to singer Lyle Lovett from 1993 to 1995.
She has long kept much of her family life private and has spent significant time on a ranch in New Mexico.
Causes
Roberts has worked with UNICEF, including a 1995 trip to Haiti to raise awareness of children’s health and education needs, and has supported a number of children’s and environmental charities over the years.
The Roberts effect
During the 1990s, studios learned that a Julia Roberts film could draw audiences on her name alone, a rare status for any actor and rarer still for women at the time. Her success helped prove that female-led films could be major box office events, a lesson that shaped the romantic comedies and dramas that followed.
Legacy
Roberts’ blend of warmth, humor and vulnerability helped define the romantic comedy for a generation, while “Erin Brockovich” and “August: Osage County” showed her dramatic range. She remains one of the few stars whose name alone can open a film.
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