Julia Roberts celebrated her 50th birthday in a very special yet unique way. During a getaway, her husband, Danny Moder whisked her away, and created a surprise that she would never have imagined, leaving her genuinely lost for words.
Milestone To Be Remembered
Celebrating a 50th birthday is a turning point in most people’s lives – and some would say that Roberts has lived quite the life already. Only three days after she celebrated her graduation from high school , she was to become a star. In 1985 she left her hometown of Smyrna, Georgia to the concrete jungle of New York City.
Speech Coach
Roberts was quickly scooped up by a talent agent, but the teenager had little to no acting experience. Furthermore, she had a strong Southern accent that would just not work. With the help of a speech coach, she conquered this But as for her experience on screen, she told the Los Angeles Times in 1991, she would “learn on the job.”
She Goes After What She Wants
Well, learn she most definitely did. After a variety of small roles in low-budget films and TV shows, Roberts ended up landing her first major part in 1988’s Mystic Pizza. “A lot of people went up for the movie,” Elaine Goldsmith, an agent who later joined Roberts’ team, told the Los Angeles Times. “But when Julia wants something, she goes after it.”
Not Getting Along With Co-Star
Even ditching her sassy Tinerkbell hair cut, and going back to long and dark hair didn’t make things much easier for Roberts however, while making the film I Love Trouble in 1994. Again rumors and disagreements threatened to overshadow her work. Roberts and costar Nick Nolte were known for butting heads, and this wasn’t exactly her favorite movie. “I don’t know what I’ve already said about I Love Trouble, other than that it was a piece of sh*t,” Roberts told Vanity Fair. “It’s no secret that Nick and I didn’t get along like a house on fire.”
Hot And Heavy
After that time, Roberts needed to step away, and we didn’t hear much from her for a year. “I don’t think I realized that the cost of fame is that it’s open season on every moment of your life,” Roberts told Vanity Fair. “That was a time when I was kind of followed every moment. One time I saw three men jump out of a hedge.”
Troubled Waters And Stepping Away
It was after that realization that Roberts took a break, but that didn’t stop the press from talking about her. “They said I was drug-addicted, alcoholic, anorexic — you name it,” Roberts said. “I mean, they needed to say something in between the ‘She’s Through!’ period and the ‘She’s Back!’ period.”
Fighting For Parts
Mystic Pizza did well with critics and audiences alike, which gave Roberts a head start as she went for her next big role. Meg Ryan had just declined the part in an upcoming feature Steel Magnolias – instead deciding to star in When Harry Met Sally.
Critical Acclaim
Plenty of other actresses were fighting for Ryan’s part in the film, and Roberts auditioned to play Shelby not one but three times. Her future co-star, Sally Field, later told the Los Angeles Times that Roberts’ natural presence helped her get the part. “Something about her makes you care for her, watch her,” Field stated.
Nominations Rolling In
Soon, it was clear that Field wasn’t the only Hollywood heavyweight to notice Roberts’ star power. The actress was later nominated for an Academy Award for her part in Steel Magnolias – and she also won a Golden Globe . In fact, she was the only actress in the film to win this honor, despite a strong talented ensemble including the likes of Field, Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis.
Role Of A Lifetime
Then came what would prove to be the role of a lifetime – starring as Vivian Ward in the 1990 classic Pretty Woman. In the film Roberts played a prostitute to Richard Gere’s Edward Lewis, a corporate bigwig and known womanizer. No romantic comedy before it had ever sold as many tickets as this film upon its release.
The Last Laugh
Once again, Roberts obtained her part in the movie after other more famous stars turned it down. But the actress again seemed to have the last laugh – she earned her second Academy Award nomination, as well as her second Golden Globe. Go Julia!
Racking Up Billions
From there, Roberts quickly became one of the world’s biggest movie stars. Her films – which include Notting Hill, Ocean’s Eleven and Eat Pray Love – have raked in more than $2.8 billion at the box office. That is an achievement.
Biggest Female Star Worldwide
“When you have Julia’s name on the marquee, you have the biggest female star in the world, one of less than 10 people in the world who can ‘open’ a picture simply because she’s in it,” former 20th Century Fox chairman Joe Roth claimed to the Los Angeles Times. “She can carry a picture regardless of genre – domestic or abroad.”
Oscar
Roberts has also proven her ability to pick up awards time and time again. She never disappoints. Apart from her two Golden Globes, she picked up a full slate of film awards for her titular role in the 2000 film, Erin Brockovich – and she finally won her Best Actress Oscar for it, too.
Finding Her Person
In fact, the first year of the new millennium was a fruitful one for Roberts in more ways than one. As well as picking up her Academy Award, she also met her future husband in 2000. His name was Danny Moder, and he served as a cameraman on her movie The Mexican.
Dating Co-Stars
The press has always been fascinated with Roberts’ love life, and it’s hard to blame them. She definitely has a thing for dating her leading men. Roberts dated many of her costars including Kiefer Sutherland, Lyle Lovett, and Benjamin Bratt, before she found her true love Danny Moder on the set of The Mexican in 2000 and married him two years later in 2002 during a midnight ceremony on the fourth of July.
It’s Him
Roberts later told Harper’s Bazaar that making his acquaintance on set was what she considered her life’s most pivotal moment. “It was meeting Danny… finding my person,” she said. “When I think about what makes my life my life… it’s him. Everything has come from that for me.”
Opening Up To Oprah
The couple have a trio of kids, named Henry, Hazel and Phinnaeus. While usually fiercely private in relation to her family, Roberts opened up to Oprah Winfrey for a 2018 Harper’s Bazaar interview. In it, she shed light on her husband and children, as well discussing her fiftieth birthday, which she had celebrated on October 28, 2017.
Divulged
Roberts divulged the unexpected way she decided to celebrate a half-century of life. “Danny goes, ‘What should we do for your 50th?’ And I said, ‘How about this? We have five days away with zero contact with the outside world,’” Roberts recalled to Oprah. However, she realized mid-trip that something was missing.
Without Her Kids
Without her brood, Roberts felt the trip was somewhat off. “Not being all together, the five of us, for my birthday – I was kind of like, ‘Huh. Maybe I didn’t think this all the way through.’” But the star and her husband traveled on, landing in a city they loved to dine and do a bit of shopping.
Birthday
As they did, Roberts received updates on her kids’ soccer games, which made her feel a bit better. “I knew when all their games were over that… we’d talk to them on my birthday,” she said. Comforted, she and Moder headed into a surf shop to browse. “Danny’s standing there holding a surfboard and he goes, ‘What do you think of this one?’” Roberts recalled.
Burst Into Tears
I said, ‘That’s a big board. What is that for?’” Roberts continued. And that was when the surprise came. “He moves it, and all three kids are standing behind it. I could burst into tears thinking about it,” she said. It turned out that all of the soccer game updates were made up to help with Moder’s surprise for Roberts.
Incredible Moment She Never Expected
And the 50-year-old said that very moment represented the beauty of a birthday, even for a person who had reached so many impressive milestones already. “It was so incredible and beautiful,” Roberts said. “That’s what getting older is all about – it’s about turning even more into the person your loved ones know you to be.
Cover Girl
Set amongst an incredible cliff and mountain backdrop, Julia Roberts dons glamorous designer gowns paired with sneakers for her latest cover shoot with Harper’s Bazaar magazine. The actress is interviewed by famous friend Oprah and talks about negative comments…. “I think, as women, we fall into this place where you feel like it’s our responsibility to give everything… There’s nothing wrong with saying to your spouse or to your child or to your friend, ‘can I get a hand?’”
Homecoming
Julia Roberts proves to be as well-suited to the small screen as the big one in the newly released suspenseful, time-shifting drama from Amazon called Home-coming. Roberts plays Heidi Bergman, who in the present is the put-together and friendly director of the Homecoming program, designed to treat veterans with PTSD. It has had rave reviews and audiences are glad to see her back on screens.
