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Early Life |
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| Roberts was born in Atlanta, Georgia at Crawford Long Hospital. Her father, Walter Brady Roberts, was a vacuum cleaner salesman, and her Minneapolis, Minnesota-born mother, Betty Lou Motes (ne Bredemus), was a one-time church secretary and real estate agent. Her parents, one-time actors and playwrights, met while performing
theatrical productions for the armed forces and later co-founded the
Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia off Juniper Street in Midtown; the two divorced in 1971.Her mother later married Michael Motes and had another daughter, named
Nancy Motes who was born in 1976. Roberts's father died of cancer when she was ten. Her older brother and sister, Eric Roberts (from whom she was once estranged but reconciled since 2004) and Lisa Roberts Gillan, are also actors.Roberts moved to Smyrna, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta) in 1972, where she attended Fitzhugh Lee Elementary School, Griffin Middle School and Campbell High School. |
Filmography (1987-1994) |
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| 1987 Firehouse-played Babs 1988 Blood Red-played Maria Collogero, Miami Vice-played Polly Wheeler (TV season 4 episode 22: Mirror Image), Mystic Pizza-played Daisy Arujo (Independent Spirit Award Nomination: Best Lead Actress), Baja Oklahoma-played Candy Hutchins (TV), Satisfaction-played Daryle (Also known as Girls of Summer) 1989 Steel Magnolias (Shelby Eatenton Latcherie Academy Award nomination: Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe win: Best Supporting Actress) 1990 Flatliners-played Rachel Mannus, Pretty Woman-played Vivian Ward (Academy Award nomination: Best Actress BAFTA nomination: Best Actress Golden Globe win: Best Musical/Comedy Actress) 1991 Hook-played Tinkerbell (Razzie Award Worst Supporting Actress), Dying Young-played Hilary O'Neil, Sleeping with the Enemy-played Sara Waters/Laura Burney 1992 [a |
Filmography (1995- 2003) |
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| 1995 Something to Talk About -played Grace King Bichon 1996 Everyone Says I Love You -played Von Sidell, Michael Collins -played Kitty Kiernan, Mary Reilly -played Mary Reilly (Razzie Award Worst Actress) 1997 Conspiracy Theory -played Alice Sutton, My Best Friend's Wedding -played Julianne Potter (Golden Globe nomination: Best Musical/Comedy Actress) 1998 Stepmom -played Isabel Kelly 1999 Runaway Bride -played Maggie Carpenter, Notting Hill -Anna Scott (Golden Globe nomination: Best Musical/Comedy Actress) 2000 Erin Brockovich -played Er |
Filmography (2004 -2009) |
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| 2004 Ocean's Twelve -played Tess Ocean, Closer -played Anna Cameron 2006 Charlotte's Web -played Charlotte the Spider (voice), Beslan: Three Days In September -played Narrator, The Ant Bully -played Hova (voice) 2007 Charlie Wilson's War -played Joanne Herring (Golden Globe nomination - Best Supporting Actress) 2008 Fireflies in the Garden -played Lisa Waechter 2009 Duplicity -played Claire Stenwick (forthcoming film) |
Awards and nominations |
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| 1989 Academy Award Best Supporting Actress, Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture 1990 Academy Award Best Actress, BAFTA Award Best Actress, Golden Globe Award Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Saturn Award Best Supporting Actress 1991 Saturn Award Best Actress, Razzie Award Worst Supporting Actress 1994 NBR Award Best Cast 1996 Razzie Award Worst Actress 1997 Golden Globe Award Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 1999 Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series, Golden Globe Award Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 2000 Academy Award Best Actress, BAFTA Award Best Actress, [a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Award" title |
Influence |
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| As of February 2007, Roberts's films have grossed $2,204,631,930 at the American box office making her the biggest female movie star in history and achieving this feat with only 31 films to her name.She was also placed at the pinnacle of the Ulmer Scale, a comprehensive guide to the global star power of actors and directors in independent and studio films created by James Ulmer, ahead of such other luminaries as Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks.
This was partly owing to her ability to attract filmgoers solely on the
basis of her name's appearance above the title and without the support
of a male co-star, something few other actresses have been able to do. |
Charities |
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| Roberts has given her time and resources to UNICEF
as well as to other charitable organizations. In Spring 1995, Roberts,
an enthusiastic supporter of UNICEF, asked if she could meet some of
the relief agency's neediest recipients. On May 10, she arrived in
Port-au-Prince, as she said, "to educate myself". The poverty she found
was overwhelming. "My heart is just bursting", she said. UNICEF
officials hoped that her six-day visit would trigger an outburst of
giving: $10 million in aid was sought at the time. In 2000, Roberts narrated Silent Angels, a documentary about Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder, which was shot in Los Angeles, Baltimore and New York. The documentary was designed to help raise public awareness about the disease. In July 2006, Earth Biofuels announced Roberts as a spokeswoman for the company and as chair of the company's newly formed Advisory Board promoting the use of renewable fuels. |
Videos |
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| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =UeKsV6tohiE |
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| http://www.metacafe.com/watch/ 1078210/julia_roberts/ |
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