【明報專訊】Julia Roberts, actress and producer, was born on 28 October 1967, in Smyrna, Georgia, the US. The youngest of three children, she grew up surrounded by creative individuals. Her parents were both actors, who ran a workshop for aspiring writers and performers until their divorce in 1971. Initially Roberts wanted to become a veterinarian (獸醫), but she abandoned this dream when she realised that she had "an inability to deal with science on a brainiac (聰明勤奮的人) kind of level". After graduating from high school in 1985, Roberts moved to New York City to live with her sister Lisa. Both Lisa and brother Eric were pursuing careers as actors.
She played a hooker (妓女) who falls in love with a client (played by Richard Gere) in the box-office hit Pretty Woman (1990, 《風月俏佳人》). Her convincing performance earned Roberts an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
In 2000, she made a dramatic breakthrough with her powerful performance in Erin Brockovich (《伊人當自強》). In the film, she played the title character: a gutsy (有勇氣), struggling single mum. Roberts won several awards for the project, including her first Academy Award. Her US$20-million salary for the film was also a Hollywood milestone, making her the first woman to receive such a hefty sum.
In 2010, she stars in the drama Eat, Pray, Love (《再單身遊記》), a film adaptation of the best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert.
text provided by the Biography Channel (now TV Channel 222)
