Julia Roberts Makes Her Venice Film Festival Debut

Julia Roberts is an American actress born on October 28, 1967, in Smyrna, Georgia, into a family of actors and playwrights. She began her career in the late 1980s with supporting roles in films such as *Mystic Pizza* and *Steel Magnolias*, gaining early recognition with an Academy Award nomination for the latter. Roberts achieved worldwide fame with the 1990 romantic comedy *Pretty Woman*, where she played Vivian Ward opposite Richard Gere, earning a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress[1][6][7]. Throughout the 1990s, Roberts starred in a series of successful films including *Flatliners* (1990), *Sleeping with the Enemy* (1991), *The Pelican Brief* (1993), *Something to Talk About* (1995), *My Best Friend’s Wedding* (1997), and *Stepmom* (1998), also serving as executive producer on some projects[1]. In 2000, she founded Shoelace Productions and starred in *Erin Brockovich*, portraying a real-life legal assistant who helped win a major environmental lawsuit. This role won her the Academy Award for Best Actress and made her the highest-paid actress at the time, commanding $20 million for the film[1][5][6]. In the early 2000s, Roberts appeared in ensemble films like *Ocean’s Eleven* (2001) and *Ocean’s Twelve* (2004), and took on complex dramatic roles such as in *Closer* (2004). She made her Broadway debut in 2006 with *Three Days of Rain* and continued working in both film and production. Her notable later work includes *Charlie Wilson’s War* (2007), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination, and *August: Osage County*, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award[3][5]. Roberts remains a significant figure in Hollywood, recognized for her blend of charisma, versatility, and box office appeal. She has received multiple awards, including three Golden Globes, and was named the People’s Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actress of All Time in 2013[6]. She is married to cameraman Danny Moder and continues to act and produce films.