Julia Roberts Bio: From Pretty Woman to Eat Pray Love

Actress Julia Roberts Biography: From Pretty Woman to Eat Pray Love She never imagined that she would become the most popular actress in America. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re taking a look at the career of Academy-Award winning actress Julia Roberts. Born on October 28th, 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia; her parents were both one-time actors and playwrights who ran a workshop. Originally desiring to be a Veterinarian, she later discovered that she lacked the scientific understanding required. Instead, she moved to New York City following her graduation from High School to pursue acting. There, she signed on with a modeling agency and took acting classes. Soon after she landed small roles, such as a rape victim in the first season of the 80s police drama “Crime Story.” In the wake of this, she caught the attention of viewers when she landed the wild, yet vulnerable role of Daisy in 1988’s coming-of-age-film “Mystic Pizza.” Subsequently, she starred alongside Hollywood legends Shirley MacLaine and Sally Field in “Steel Magnolias.” Then appeared with Kevin Bacon and Keither Sutherland as med students trying to discover if there is life after death in “Flatliners.” Despite this, her breakout role came as a result of starring opposite Richard Gere as a prostitute in 1990’s romantic comedy “Pretty Woman.” Not only bringing her an Academy Award nomination and a people’s choice award, the film’s unprecedented success at the box office made her an instant Hollywood heavyweight. Following this, she portrayed the fairy Tinkerbelle in 1991’s Peter Pan sequel “Hook,” and became a staple of 90s thrillers after starring in “Sleeping With The Enemy”, “The Pelican Brief” and “Conspiracy Theory”. Despite her success in this genre, audiences seemed to enjoy Roberts the most when she starred in romantic comedies, such as “My Best Friend’s Wedding”, “Runaway Bride” and “Notting Hill.” In 2000, Julia Roberts secured her first Oscar win for best actress when she portrayed a real-life single mother of three caught in a legal battle against an energy company in “Erin Brockovich.” Following this, she joined an all-star cast in the crime caper “Ocean’s Eleven”, before co-starring opposite her Ocean’s co-star, and good friend, Brad Pitt in the romantic comedy “The Mexican.” Roberts then made yet another big box-office appearance in the drama ‘Mona Lisa Smile’, before rejoining the Ocean’s cast for its 2004 sequel. Throughout the remainder of the decade, the star appeared in the comedy drama, “Charlie Wilson’s War” and the spy-thriller “Duplicity.” At the same time, she tried her hand at Broadway by performing opposite Bradley Cooper, who she later starred with in the 2010 ensemble romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day.” Not only well known as a dynamic performer, Julia Roberts has become one of the most successful actresses in Hollywood, and used her influence to draw recognition to several humanitarian charities, all while continuing to star in high profile film projects, such as the 2010 self-discovery film “Eat Pray Love”, and 2011’s comedy drama “Larry Crowne” opposite Tom Hanks.