[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/julia_roberts.jpg]]

->'''Tom:''' Whoa, secret wedding. Julia Roberts pulled the same move.\\
'''Ron:''' Is that that toothy girl from ''Film/MysticPizza''?
-->-- ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''

Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967 in Smyrna, Georgia) is an American actress. She became well known during the early 1990s after starring in the romantic comedy ''Film/PrettyWoman'' opposite Creator/RichardGere, which grossed $463 million worldwide. After receiving Academy Award nominations for ''Film/SteelMagnolias'' in 1990 and ''Pretty Woman'' in 1991, she snagged a Best Actress Oscar in 2001 for her performance in ''Film/ErinBrockovich''. Her films, which run the gamut from romantic comedies to crime thrillers to straight dramas, have collectively brought box office receipts of over $2.6 billion, making her the most successful actress in terms of box office receipts.

Also well-known for her megawatt toothy grin and her love for going barefoot.

She's the younger sister of actor Creator/EricRoberts and the aunt of actress Creator/EmmaRoberts.
----
!!Filmography:
* ''Film/MysticPizza'' (1988) as Daisy Arujo
* ''Film/SteelMagnolias'' (1989) as Shelby Eatenton Latcherie
* ''Film/PrettyWoman'' (1990) as Vivian Ward
* ''Film/{{Flatliners}}'' (1990) as Rachel Mannus
* ''Film/SleepingWithTheEnemy'' (1991) as Laura Williams Burney/Sara Waters
* ''Film/DyingYoung'' (1991) as Hilary O'Neil
* ''Film/{{Hook}}'' (1991) as Tinkerbell
* ''Film/ThePlayer'' (1992) AsHerself
* ''Film/ThePelicanBrief'' (1993) as Darby Shaw
* ''Film/ILoveTrouble'' (1994) as Sabrina Peterson
* ''Film/PretAPorter'' (1994) as Annie Eisenhower
* ''Film/SomethingToTalkAbout'' (1995) as Grace King Bichon
* ''Film/MaryReilly'' (1996) as Mary Reilly
* ''Film/MichaelCollins'' (1996) as Kitty Kieran
* ''Film/EveryoneSaysILoveYou'' (1996) as Von
* ''Film/MyBestFriendsWedding'' (1997) as Julianne Potter
* ''Film/ConspiracyTheory'' (1997) as Alice Sutton
* ''Film/{{Stepmom}}'' (1998) as Isabel Kelly
* ''Film/NottingHill'' (1999) as Anna Scott
* ''Film/RunawayBride'' (1999) as Maggie Carpenter
* ''Film/ErinBrockovich'' (2000) as Erin Brockovich
* ''Film/TheMexican'' (2001) as Samantha Barzel
* ''Film/AmericasSweethearts'' (2001) as Kiki Harrison
* ''Film/OceansEleven'' and ''Twelve'' (2001 & 2003) as Tess Ocean
* ''Film/MonaLisaSmile'' (2003) as Katherine Ann Watson
* ''Film/{{Closer}}'' (2004) as Anna Cameron
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAntBully'' (2006) as Hova (voice)
* ''Film/CharlottesWeb'' (2006) as Charlotte A. Cavatica (voice)
* ''Film/CharlieWilsonsWar'' (2007) as Joanne Herring
* ''Film/{{Duplicity}}'' (2009) as Claire Stenwick
* ''Film/ValentinesDay'' (2010) as Kate Hazeltine
* ''Film/EatPrayLove'' (2010) as Elizabeth Gilbert
* ''Film/LarryCrowne'' (2011) as Mercedes Tainot
* ''Film/MirrorMirror'' (2012) as Queen Clementianna
* ''Theatre/AugustOsageCounty'' (2013) as Barbara Fordham
* ''Film/TheNormalHeart'' (2014) as Emma Brookner
* ''Film/MoneyMonster'' (2016) as Patty Fenn
* ''WesternAnimation/SmurfsTheLostVillage'' (2017) as Smurf Willow (voice)
* ''[[Literature/Wonder2012 Wonder]]'' (2017) as Isabel Pullman
* ''Series/{{Homecoming}}'' (2018) as Heidi Bergman
* ''Series/{{Gaslit}}'' (2022) as Martha Mitchell
* ''Film/TicketToParadise'' (2022) as Georgia Cotton
* ''Film/LeaveTheWorldBehind'' (2023) as Amanda Sanford
----
!!This actress provides examples of:
* AdamWesting: In ''[[Film/OceansEleven Ocean's Twelve]]'', her character Tess attempts to impersonate Julia Roberts... and badly. She also plays a fictionalized version of herself in ''Film/NottingHill''.
* BeautyInversion: For ''Film/MaryReilly'', she played a dowdy and grubby chamber maid in Victorian England.
* EternallyPearlyWhiteTeeth: And it's a nice wide grin, too.
* EnforcedMethodActing: For ''Film/PrettyWoman'' there's a scene where Vivian is laughing hysterically while watching ''Series/ILoveLucy''. Roberts said director Creator/GarryMarshall made her laugh by telling jokes.
* FakeIrish: Acted as Irish characters in two films in a row - ''Film/MaryReilly'' and ''Film/MichaelCollins''.
* HollywoodHypeMachine: One of the few examples that did hold up. After her StarMakingRole with ''Film/PrettyWoman'', she was hyped up considerably. Although she had a few flops in the early '90s, she became one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.
* IAmNotLeonardNimoy: When people see her in movies, they see Julia Roberts, as opposed to the characters she plays. She's seen as a wholesome good girl. The few times she's attempted to go against type -- ''Film/MaryReilly'', ''Film/MirrorMirror'', ''Film/MichaelCollins'' -- have not done well with critics. And they rarely did well at the box office, either.
* TheIngenue: Was typecast as a wholesome good girl - to the degree where a plot point in ''Film/{{Flatliners}}'' was rewritten[[note]]Rachel's sin was originally going to be that she once had an affair with her college professor; in the finished film, it's that she witnessed her father's suicide [[/note]] so as not to ruin her good girl image.
* ItsNotSupposedToWinOscars: [[invoked]] Roberts has described herself as "an ordinary woman with an extraordinary job", and proudly admits she came to Hollywood simply to make fun, escapist popcorn films. This naturally attracts the ire of many high-brow film critics, but nevertheless, the woman is a juggernaut at what she does. That said, she's no slouch when it actually comes to the Oscars, with four nominations and one win.
%%* MsFanservice: One of the most notable examples in modern Hollywood.
* PlayingAgainstType:
** ''Film/MaryReilly'' is one of her only period pieces, playing something of a HauntedHeroine.
** To a lesser extent in ''{{Film/Closer}}'', where she plays a considerably less wholesome character than usual. Alice - who's played by Creator/NataliePortman - would be more her type.
** And of course as the evil queen in ''Film/MirrorMirror''.
* ProductionPosse: She was reunited with the following ''Film/PrettyWoman'' cast and crew members - Creator/RichardGere, Creator/HectorElizondo, Kathleen Marshall, Patrick Richwood and director Creator/GarryMarshall - for ''Film/RunawayBride''.
* RealitySubtext: Playing the titular ''Film/RunawayBride'' when she herself had cancelled her wedding days before the ceremony.
* RomanceOnTheSet: She dated Creator/KieferSutherland during ''{{Film/Flatliners}}''.
%%* RuleOfFun: This, as opposed to logic, tends to drive her films.
* SexyDiscretionShot: A self-described example:
-->'''Roberts:''' People don't want to see me having sex... I'm the queen of the 'kiss, foreplay, dissolve.' And then the 'Whoo! Good morning, tiger!'
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Her movies are typically very idealistic, but some have interpreted strangely misanthropic and even nihilistic vibes from them.
* StarMakingRole: She garnered an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in ''Film/SteelMagnolias'', but ''Film/PrettyWoman'' was what made her a household name.
* ThoseTwoActors: Has worked opposite Creator/GeorgeClooney five times, typically as love interests.
* ThrowItIn:
** For a scene in ''Film/PrettyWoman'' where Edward suddenly closes the necklace box before Vivian can touch it was ad-libbed by Creator/RichardGere. Vivian's nervous laughter was Julia's real reaction. Vivian's line about being from Georgia was also to explain her mild Southern accent, as Julia herself is from Georgia.
** The 'platypus' face she makes in ''Film/RunawayBride'' came from something the director saw her doing to his own children.
** She ad-libbed the $15 million figure in ''Film/NottingHill'' (in rehearsals she had said $10 million). Apparently she increased it because "I'm kind of tired of low-balling".
%%* TomboyishVoice: Wow, ''deep!'' And often raspy.
----