Julia Roberts Erin Brockovich (2000)
Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967, Smyrna, Georgia) starred as Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich (2000). The performance won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, the BAFTA, the Golden Globe, and the SAG Award — all for the same role, in a single awards season. (wikipedia, imdb)
Erin Brockovich made Roberts the first actress paid $20 million for a single film
Roberts was thirty-two when she signed for Erin Brockovich. Her salary made industry history — the $20 million tier had been reserved for Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Adam Sandler. Roberts' agent Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas argued the case to Universal: Roberts had five films grossing over $100 million domestically, more than any actress of her generation, and deserved the same compensation male stars received as a matter of course. Universal agreed. (history.com, variety)
"I had five films that grossed over $100 million." — Julia Roberts (paraphrased from her agent's pitch), Variety (2022)
Roberts swept the 2000-2001 awards season for a single performance
| Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Academy Award | Best Actress | Won |
| BAFTA | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Won |
| Golden Globe | Best Actress — Drama | Won |
| Screen Actors Guild | Outstanding Female Actor | Won |
| Critics' Choice | Best Actress | Won |
| National Board of Review | Best Actress | Won |
Her Oscar acceptance speech ran over four minutes — well past the 45-second guideline — and famously omitted thanks to the real Erin Brockovich. Brockovich said publicly she did not mind. The next day, four men appeared at Brockovich's door with flowers and a note from Roberts: "You know, I wouldn't have been up there, had it not been for you." (fandomwire)
"I love the world! I'm so happy! Thank you!" — Julia Roberts, 73rd Academy Awards acceptance speech (2001)
Roberts had been the biggest movie star in the world for a decade before Brockovich gave her the performance
Roberts broke through with Mystic Pizza (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989), got an Oscar nomination for Steel Magnolias, and became a global star with Pretty Woman (1990). The 1990s were uneven — Sleeping with the Enemy and The Pelican Brief hit; Mary Reilly and I Love Trouble did not. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) restored her commercial standing. Notting Hill and Runaway Bride (both 1999) cemented her position. But until Erin Brockovich, the consensus was that Roberts was a star, not a serious actress. The Academy Award reframed the conversation.
"I always believed she was a great actress, not just a movie star." — Steven Soderbergh (paraphrased), Hollywood Reporter (2020)
Erin Brockovich required Roberts to play a woman who had never been pretty in the way Roberts was pretty
The performance is built on physical and verbal choices that work against Roberts' usual screen vocabulary. The wardrobe — push-up bras, micro-skirts, bare midriffs — codes class rather than glamour. The voice is louder and rougher than Roberts had ever played. The character apologizes for nothing and explains everything at length. The real Erin Brockovich described meeting Roberts on set: Roberts greeted her with "Oh my gosh! I'm so embarrassed. I don't even have my boobs in yet" — a reference to the costume's prosthetic enhancements. (fox news)
"I was beyond impressed with her performance." — Erin Brockovich, Fox News (2020)
"She got it — the concern for the environment, the passion that drove me, the understanding of the value of water. She got it all." — Erin Brockovich, Fox News (2020)
Roberts' filmography spans four decades of leading-lady work
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Mystic Pizza | Breakout |
| 1989 | Steel Magnolias | First Oscar nomination |
| 1990 | Pretty Woman | Star-making hit; Oscar nom |
| 1991 | Sleeping with the Enemy / Dying Young | Thriller and weepie |
| 1993 | The Pelican Brief | Grisham adaptation |
| 1996 | Mary Reilly | Critical/commercial failure |
| 1997 | My Best Friend's Wedding | Romantic comedy comeback |
| 1999 | Notting Hill / Runaway Bride | Box-office reset |
| 2000 | Erin Brockovich | Best Actress Oscar |
| 2001 | America's Sweethearts / Ocean's Eleven | First Soderbergh reunion |
| 2003 | Mona Lisa Smile | Period drama |
| 2004 | Ocean's Twelve / Closer | Soderbergh; Mike Nichols |
| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War | Mike Nichols |
| 2010 | Eat Pray Love | Lead in adaptation |
| 2013 | August: Osage County | Oscar nomination |
| 2016 | Money Monster | Foster-directed thriller |
| 2018 | Ben Is Back | Drug-recovery drama |
| 2022 | Ticket to Paradise | Reunites with George Clooney |
| 2023 | Leave the World Behind | Netflix; Sam Esmail |
After Erin Brockovich, Roberts worked steadily with Soderbergh (Ocean's trilogy, Full Frontal) and selectively in other directors' films, taking long absences to raise her three children with cinematographer Daniel Moder. She has not produced another performance that captured the awards consensus the way Erin Brockovich did, but she remains one of the few actresses of her generation whose name above the title still moves the box office.