From Runaway Bride To America’s Sweetheart
Julia Roberts went from rising star in the 80s to absolutely dominating the 90s as one of the top actresses of the decade. But with all that fame came a whole lot of attention…from co-stars, from domineering directors, and, of course, from the gossip rags. Roberts gracefully navigated ultra-stardom in a way that few others could—but not without a few missteps along the way.
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1. She Had A Brush With Fame
From the moment Julia Roberts was born, she had an instant connection to one of America’s most well-known and beloved figures. When Roberts came into the world in 1967, her parents were running a children’s acting school in Georgia, and it was one of the only ones that was integrated. To thank them for teaching their daughter, Coretta Scott King—Martin Luther King Jr’s wife—paid for little Julia’s hospital bill.
Clearly, it wouldn’t be her only encounter with big names—even before she became one herself.
Roland Godefroy, Wikimedia Commons
2. She Came From A Broken Family
There was a reason Mrs King had to step in and foot the bill. Betty and Walter Roberts—and by extension, their kids Eric, Lisa, and Julia—were broke. Their divorce, which followed in 1971, certainly didn’t help things. And unfortunately for young Julia, the worst was yet to come. The next year, her mother Betty tied the knot with a man named Michael Motes, making him Julia’s stepfather—but he didn’t exactly step up to the plate.
Fairchild Archive, Getty Images
3. She Had An Evil Stepfather
Betty and her new husband soon gave Julia a little half-sister, Nancy—but mostly, all that Michael Motes gave Julia Roberts was a whole lot of childhood trauma. Years later, family members accused Motes of heavy drinking and abusive behavior. Her brother Eric said Motes “terrorized” him, and that he worried their stepfather had subjected his sisters to the same behavior.
Eric, at least, was old enough to move out, but Julia was stuck there with her mother and Motes.
4. She Experienced Horrible Tragedy
As if living in such a miserable situation wasn’t enough, fate threw another twist at Julia when she was only 10 years old. Her father, Walter, passed on after a diagnosis of throat cancer. It was heartbreaking—but there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Five years later, her mother finally filed for divorce from Motes, citing cruelty as the reason.
Roberts was finally able to live out her teen years in relative peace.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
5. She Changed Her Path
Though Julia Roberts had spent high school hoping to become a veterinarian, the moment she graduated, she took off for New York City, where she started modeling and taking acting classes. Within a few years, she landed her first role on TV playing the victim in a crime drama for one episode.
Other parts followed—but she’d find her breakout role in an unlikely place.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
6. She Made A Mark
Mystic Pizza was a 1988 indie rom-com helmed by a rookie director but somehow, it became a hit. Ever prescient, the critic Roger Ebert remarked that it was more likely to become known for its breakout stars than any of its other qualities, and he was right. It was Matt Damon’s first film role, and the third for co-stars Roberts, Lili Taylor, and Annabeth Gish.
For Roberts, it was her ticket to fame—and some of the foibles that come with it.
Screenshot from Mystic Pizza, Samuel Goldwyn Company (1988), Enhanced
7. She Had Her Fun
Reportedly, Julia Roberts was visited on set by rising star Liam Neeson, who she’d previously appeared in a film with. She was 19, and he was 35. It was rumored they were seeing each other—but that she dumped him to date one of the grips on Mystic Pizza. Of course, that wouldn’t end up being the only high-profile romance—or switch-up—in Roberts’ life.
8. She Met Some Icons
Roberts then went from one female-led ensemble cast to another when she was cast in Steel Magnolias alongside legends like Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Sally Field, and Daryl Hannah. Unfortunately, no amount of experience could save them from their director, Herbert Ross. Field and MacLaine claimed that he was terrible, and that he picked on Roberts in particular—even making a deranged demand.
Screenshot from Steel Magnolias, Tri-Star Pictures (1989), Enhanced
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9. He Had An Extreme Request
According to Sally Field, Ross told Roberts that she had to get rid of the distinctive mole on her face, just below her right eye. Though Roberts was in a vulnerable position, not quite having reached the level of stardom of her co-stars, she said no. Roberts was learning to stand up for herself and she was racking up the wins, as Steel Magnolias was yet another hit, earning her a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.
Now, it was off to the races—and her next move would blow everyone away.
Screenshot from Steel Magnolias, Tri-Star Pictures (1989), Enhanced
10. She Was A Pretty Woman
Julia Roberts came out of Steel Magnolias with an award and a new boyfriend—her co-star Dylan McDermott. The pair got engaged almost immediately and lasted about two years. Roberts also won the lead in the rom-com Pretty Woman, beating out a number of Hollywood heavyweights to star opposite Richard Gere.
It wouldn’t exactly be a spoiler to tell you that it became a huge hit, but Roberts was still finding her way.
Screenshot from Pretty Woman, Buena Vista Pictures (1990), Enhanced
11. She Was All Nerves
Roberts may have already had an Oscar, but she was still a relative newbie in Hollywood—and when it came to filming her intimate love scenes with Richard Gere, the tension were high. So high, in fact, that a very visible vein popped out on her forehead. To help get rid of the scene-stealing vessel, director Garry Marshall hopped into bed with the two leads, and he and Gere rubbed the offending vein until it disappeared. Personally, I would’ve thought the extra attention would make the nerves worse…
At a different point, Roberts also broke out in hives and had to treat them with calamine lotion in order to complete the scene. Still, her hard work paid off. Pretty Woman set the stage for the next decade of A-list stardom…and a whole lot of tumult.
Screenshot from Pretty Woman, Buena Vista Pictures (1990), Enhanced
12. She Fell In Love
Her follow-up to Pretty Woman was the horror Flatliners, and while it might have been a bit of a box office disappointment, it set Julia Roberts up for her next big part: tabloid magnet. On set, a romance sprung up between her and co-star Kiefer Sutherland. There was just one little problem: both were already in relationships—Roberts was engaged to Dylan McDermott, and Sutherland was married to Camelia Kath, with whom he had a daughter.
Well, they’d made quick work out of that situation.
13. They Went All In
Roberts dumped her fiancé and Sutherland divorced his wife. They soon moved in together and it wasn’t long before Roberts was spotted with a ring on her finger. There were ups and downs—including a notable period where Sutherland moved out and took up with a go-go dancer—but ultimately, they set a wedding date: June 14, 1991.
Roberts was in the middle of filming Steven Spielberg’s Hook, so it made sense to have it on a soundstage at 20th Century Fox. She could say “I do” and then get back to playing Tinkerbell…but you know what they say about the best-laid plans.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
14. She Was A Runaway Bride
On the day of the wedding, Julia Roberts was spotted out in public—but not in a gown, and certainly not with Kiefer Sutherland. She grabbed lunch with his close friend and former co-star Jason Patric, then both got a plane to London before catching another flight to Dublin, Ireland. According to witnesses, her engagement ring was conspicuously absent—and the two were canoodling very publicly on the second leg of their trip.
If Roberts had hoped to quietly end her engagement and get out of the public eye with her Ireland trip, she had another thing coming.
15. There Was Another Man
As soon as the tabloids and gossip magazines heard about the sudden switch-up, they hounded Roberts and Patric in Dublin, who quickly checked out of their hotel in order to avoid the paparazzi. Then the details began to come out. Sutherland had uninvited Patric, which had upset Roberts. And then, days before the wedding, Patric had showed up at the spa where Roberts was staying, and the two had dinner together.
Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, the statement announcing the wedding was off went out the next day. And the big party wasn’t the only thing it ruined.
16. She Messed Things Up
Remember that when all of this went down, Julia Roberts was supposed to be appearing in Spielberg’s big budget adventure film Hook as Tinkerbell—only to run off to Ireland, delaying filming. She’d also been hospitalized multiple times during filming (once after Sutherland’s rumored dalliance with the go-go dancer came out in the news), delaying things. Roberts may have been one of the biggest stars in the world at the time, but Spielberg wasn’t having it.
17. She Was Labeled Difficult
While Roberts was in Ireland, Spielberg called her and told her in no uncertain terms to get back to the set of Hook as quickly as possible or he’d fire her. Though she did eventually complete the film, everyone involved had to question if it was worth it. Roberts got a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress, and it was also Spielberg’s first film to ever get a Razzie nod.
Screenshot from Hook, TriStar Pictures (1991)
18. There Was Backlash
Roberts’ management team likely had an eye towards damage control—but unfortunately, it would take a while for her to dig herself out of the hole she’d ended up in. While making Sleeping With the Enemy in Abbeville, SC, Roberts attempted to go for dinner with a Black friend, only to get turned away. Later, in an interview, she said the town was “horribly racist” and a “living hell”.
In response, the town raised $467 to buy an ad in Variety that snapped back “Pretty Woman? Pretty Low”. It was all becoming a lot to handle.
Universal History Archive, Getty Images
19. She Fell In Love Again
After a tumultuous few years, Julia Roberts decided to take a two-year break from acting, only accepting a small cameo in a Robert Altman film. All the more time for a romance—and one that seemed to come completely out of left field, at that. On the set of the film, she met country singer Lyle Lovett.
To say it was a whirlwind would be an understatement.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
20. She Made It To The Altar
After three weeks of dating, Lovett proposed and Roberts accepted. Within three days of the proposal, the pair were married in a humble wood-paneled church in Indiana. But though they’d met while Roberts was on a career hiatus, it wouldn’t exactly be a long honeymoon period. She got back into acting soon after. About a year into the marriage, Lovett confessed in an interview that, due to their busy work schedules, “We’ve never spent more than seven days together”.
Was it a union of overachievers…or a recipe for disaster?
21. People Wondered About Them
The time apart wasn’t the only red flag for the couple. Rumors flew when Roberts was spotted dancing with actor Ethan Hawke, but ultimately, it was the constant periods of separation that seemed to be the most glaring problem. Perhaps the writing was on the wall: They’d both kept their separate homes the whole time.
And when they finally decided to call it quits, it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
22. They Couldn’t Make It
In the spring of 1995, Lovett was involved in a motorcycle crash that left him homebound in Houston with a broken collarbone. Roberts, for her part, was in the middle of making the embattled period horror film Mary Reilly in the UK. Still, Lovett said in an interview there was a possibility of having a child when Roberts’ movie wrapped. Then, in early April, came the joint statement: They were separating after 21 months of marriage.
Screenshot from Mary Reilly, Sony Pictures Releasing (1996)
23. It Was Amicable
The gossip mags searched for a bombshell reason for the split, but none were to be found. It took years for Roberts to open up about it, and when she finally did, she called it a “miscalculation,” not a mistake, and said they’d never had a “nasty moment”. However, if Roberts only had kind words for her ex, the same could not be said for a certain family member…
24. Her Big Brother Wasn’t Exactly A Role Model
Remember Julia’s older brother Eric, who had moved out when she was still a child? Well, he’d made a name for himself in Hollywood long before Julia made her way to the big screen. However, when her star was on the rise, he was in the mire of a number of personal problems, including arrests, breakups, and the birth of his daughter, Emma.
Julia Roberts, who was at that point clearly quite image conscious, grinned and bore it—until she couldn’t anymore.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
25. She Went Against Him
In 1993, Eric Roberts ended up embroiled in a custody battle with Kelly Cunningham, the mother of his daughter Emma. That’s when Julia stepped in—and took Kelly’s side against her brother’s. It was a surprise to many, but Eric later admitted his issues with illicit substances had already driven a wedge between them at that point.
Either way, her role in the custody case led to a long period of estrangement between the siblings—and a bit more unwanted tabloid coverage for Julia.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
26. She Had A Feud
Julia Roberts still hadn’t quite been able to shake her “difficult” reputation after her comeback—and her feud with Nick Nolte on the set of I Love Trouble likely didn’t help things. They were two of the biggest stars of the period, and they clashed immediately. Not long after they started shooting, they asked to film scenes separately…not an easy feat when the movie you’re making is a romantic comedy.
Roberts, at one point, even refused to kiss Nolte—and the rancor didn’t end when filming stopped.
27. He Snapped Back
Roberts didn’t hold back when asked for her opinion of Nolte in an interview following I Love Trouble. She called him “disgusting”—but Nolte also had a chance to say his piece, saying “She’s not a nice person. Everyone knows that”. Fresh from a series of underwhelming films to go with her underwhelming co-star, Roberts sought to play to her strengths—namely, her charm.
Screenshot from I Love Trouble, Buena Vista Pictures (1994), Enhanced
28. She Couldn’t Help Herself
In the 90s, nothing was a bigger ticket in scripted TV than the post-Super Bowl time slot, and for its second season, juggernaut sitcom Friends landed a big guest star for theirs: Julia Roberts. They walked away with big ratings, and she walked away with a new boyfriend—cast member Matthew Perry. Falling for a cast member was nothing new for Roberts, but it was certainly a new one for Perry.
Screenshot from Friends, NBC (1994-2004)
29. She Got Dumped
The pair lasted for just two months before breaking up—but this time, it wasn’t Roberts running. As mentioned, Perry had been a big star for basically about a year, and knew he was punching above his weight. As time went on, he became terrified that she was going to dump him at any minute—so he beat her to it, and broke up with her. As Perry later wrote of the moment, "I can't begin to describe the look of confusion on her face”.
Well, when something that disappointing happens, the only way to go is up.
30. She Was America’s Sweetheart Again
By 1997, Julia Roberts’ comeback—if you can call it that—was in full swing, and anyone who resisted was about to be bowled over by her in My Best Friend’s Wedding. The film was a massive hit, and critics had a lot of love for Roberts’ performance. So did the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who nominated her for a Golden Globe.
Her personal life began to ramp up again too.
Screenshot from My Best Friend’s Wedding, Sony Pictures Releasing (1997), Enhanced
31. It Happened In One Single Moment
That same year, Roberts was sitting at a restaurant when Law & Order star Benjamin Bratt walked in—a moment she later called “love at first sight” (what, had she never seen a L&O rerun like the rest of us?). They started dating, and though they didn’t quite move as fast as Roberts’ previous relationships, they got serious quickly and weren’t shy about publicly lauding each other in interviews.
Could this time be different?
Fairchild Archive, Getty Images
32. She Worked Hard
Never one to separate business from pleasure, Julia Roberts made a guest appearance on Law & Order in 1999, but it wasn’t just stunt casting. It turned out to be a genuinely good episode, and it landed her an Emmy nom for Outstanding Guest Actress. There were also other hit films to round out Roberts’ 90s reign, from Conspiracy Theory to Notting Hill and Runaway Bride—a film that seemed to capitalize on her heartbreaker reputation.
But once again, these busy periods took their toll.
Screenshot from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Universal Television (1999–present)
33. She Did Something No One Else Had
In 2000, Roberts set a record when her starring role in Erin Brockovich made her the first actress to earn $20 million on a film. The film was a critical and commercial success. It earned Roberts her first Oscar for Best Actress—and Bratt was there, right by her side, when she won. The early 90s had been exceptionally rough, and now, she had undoubtedly leveled up. But what did that mean for her relationship?
Screenshot from Erin Brockovich, Universal Pictures (2000)
34. They Didn’t Make It
As with her marriage to Lyle Lovett, Julia Roberts spent a lot of time apart from her boyfriend Benjamin Bratt. After all, he was making Law & Order in NYC while she was making movies all over the world. They broke up in 2001, and Bratt later shared that their gap in showbiz experiences—specifically, her immense fame—drove a wedge between them that he found hard to handle.
But there may have been other factors.
35. She Rebounded
In 2000, before the end of her relationship with Bratt, Roberts headed south to film The Mexican with Brad Pitt—but this time, it wasn’t a co-star who caught her eye. It was cameraman Danny Moder. He was married at the time to makeup artist Vera Steimberg. Roberts and Moder formed a friendship and later, during her breakup with Bratt, he was there for her.
About six months after meeting Roberts, Moder moved out of his home with Steimberg. He and Roberts began dating. Then, in June of 2001, Moder filed for divorce. But there were still bumps in the road ahead.
36. She Said No
Julia Roberts once claimed that after meeting, her and Moder “sorted” their “whole thing[s]” out separately before getting together—but at least in terms of legal proceedings, that’s not the whole truth. Though Moder filed, Steimberg refused to give him the divorce he wanted—and it really got under Roberts’ skin. And what she did next really felt like a callback to her messy days in the early 90s.
37. It Was A New Low
Roberts and Moder had been together for a while when she was spotted out alone, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a DIY graphic reading “A Low Vera”. The implications were pretty clear: She was calling out her boyfriend’s ex-wife. Who happened to be a working makeup artist, likely not making that much money…and who certainly wasn’t as famous as Julia Roberts.
It was a lot of pressure for a non-celebrity, and a definite mean girl move on Roberts’ part—but that’s not all that she was rumored to have done.
38. She Won The War
Ultimately, Steimberg did end up giving up on her marriage and signing the divorce papers—but whispers also circulated that Roberts had allegedly paid the makeup artist up to $200,000 to get it over and done with. What Julia wants, Julia gets—and she didn’t just want Danny Moder. She also wanted another walk down the aisle, and a happily ever after.
39. They Made It Official
In 2002, Roberts and Moder invited friends and family to their ranch in Taos, New Mexico, to celebrate Independence Day. As the final minutes of July 3 ticked down, they urged guests to stay up with them till midnight, and then they sprung their big surprise: They were getting married, right there, right then. One 20-minute ceremony later, and they were hitched.
The fans, celeb-watchers, and gossip columnists who’d seen this all before sat back and waited for an old pattern to repeat itself—but this time, they were in for a surprise.
40. She Kept Blowing Up The Box Office
Despite the ups and downs that had preceded her marriage to Moder, Roberts’ career didn’t falter for a second in that era. She even topped her own record when she got a $25 million paycheck for Mona Lisa Smile in 2003. She became the female lead in the first two Ocean’s films and also appeared in Closer.
She was at the top of her game—professionally and personally.
Screenshot from Ocean's Eleven, Warner Bros. Pictures (2001)
41. She Became A Mom
In 2004, Roberts and Moder became parents for the first time when she gave birth to twins. The happy couple named them Phinnaeus Walter and Hazel Patricia. Roberts had been on bed rest for about a month before giving birth and was thrilled to finally become a mother. But along with motherhood came some more surprises.
42. It Brought Them Together
As it turns out, motherhood was actually the thing that brought Julia Roberts’ family back together, and helped heal her fractured relationship with her brother Eric. After being estranged since the 90s, Eric went to visit Julia, her husband, and their twins in hospital. And in typical Eric fashion, he had a lot to say about the visit, including that Julia was “the best-looking pregnant broad on the planet”.
And he didn’t stop there.
43. She Helped Her Niece
While her relationship with her brother Eric was fraught, Julia Roberts always supported his daughter Emma, inviting her to film sets when she was a kid and even having her appear as an uncredited extra in America’s Sweethearts. And even though the family has mended fences, Eric just can’t help himself when it comes to talking about his famous female family members.
44. He Takes All The Credit
Eric Roberts actually takes credit not just for his daughter’s career, but also for Julia’s, saying in 2018 that: "If it wasn't for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and I'm very proud of that. And I am so proud that everybody knows I was first because I was first by a long shot,” adding, “I was first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, so I'm proud of that”.
Gee, no wonder they spent more than a decade estranged.
45. She Took A Break And Made A Comeback
In December of 2006, Roberts announced she was pregnant again, and in June of 2007, she gave birth to a baby boy, Henry Daniel. She took another two-year break from acting following her son’s birth, returning to the screen in 2009 with Duplicity, which got her her seventh Golden Globe nomination. But it wasn’t always so easy.
Screenshot from Duplicity, Universal Pictures (2009)
46. The Parts Aren’t There For Her
During the press cycle for Duplicity, Roberts was asked about her break, and she replied: "I don't have the bug to work. I have the bug to make good movies, and those don't come along very often”. And it’s true that in the period since, she hasn’t found a film to reach the same heights of, say, Erin Brockovich—though she has continued to work and even branched out to TV.
But she’s still haunted by some dark shadows of the past.
Screenshot from Duplicity, Universal Pictures (2009)
47. Some Think She’s Still An Ice Queen
One exception to the aforementioned rule was the highly-anticipated film adaptation of the hit book Eat Pray Love in 2010. Yet, despite the book’s positive message, stories spread that Roberts had been extremely frosty at the afterparty, refusing to mix with the guests and celebrating in a guarded room while the book’s author mingled at the big party downstairs.
But ice queen or not, unfortunately for Roberts, a tragedy was on the horizon.
Screenshot from Eat Pray Love, Sony Pictures Entertainment (2010)
48. She Had Another Family Feud
Julia Roberts didn’t just clash with her brother Eric—she also had a long and fraught relationship with half-sister Nancy Motes, and in 2014, it came to a heartbreaking conclusion. Motes had followed Roberts to Hollywood in the 90s, hoping to get into acting, but little was known about what happened between them until 2013.
49. She Said She Wasn’t Supportive
That year, Motes told notorious British tabloid the Sun that Roberts didn’t think she’d make it as an actor because she was overweight. Roberts was heartbroken that her half-sister would speak about her to the tabloids that way. Sadly, it all came to a devastating conclusion when Motes took her own life in February of 2014 at the age of 37.
In her note, she mentioned her half-sister.
Christopher Polk, Getty Images
50. She Left A Note
Motes’ fiancé later claimed that Nancy had left a note, and that it had specifically mentioned her famous siblings. He said Motes had written “My so-called siblings get nothing except the memory that they are the ones that drove me into the deepest depression I’ve been in”.
Though Roberts didn’t acknowledge the fiancé’s claims, she did say one thing about losing her sister: “It’s just heartbreak […] It's hour by hour some days, but you just keep looking ahead”.
51. He Said She Was Right
Though Julia Roberts has mostly elided the topic of the love triangle that ended with her leaving Kiefer Sutherland at the altar and running away to Ireland with Jason Patric—you know, the one that basically derailed her career—not everyone involved has stayed silent. Years later, Sutherland confessed he doesn't actually have hard feelings about the incident. When asked about it, Sutherland said Roberts "was smart to get out while she did. I commend Julia for seeing how young and silly we were, even at the last minute, even as painful and as difficult as it was. Thank God she saw it".
Bryan Berlin, Wikimedia Commons
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