Julia Roberts

Roberts catapulted to worldwide fame when she co-starred with Richard Gere in the Cinderella/Pygmalionesque story Pretty Woman in 1990. Roberts won the role after the first two choices for the part, Molly Ringwald and Meg Ryan both turned it down. In 1993, she co-starred with Denzel Washington in the successful The Pelican Brief, based on the John Grisham novel. She also starred alongside Liam Neeson in the 1996 film Michael Collins. In 2001, Roberts received the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Erin Brockovich, who helped wage a successful lawsuit against energy giant Pacific Gas & Electric. Julia Roberts made her Broadway debut on April 19, 2006 as Nan in a revival of Richard Greenberg's 1997 play, Three Days of Rain opposite Alias and Kitchen Confidential star Bradley Cooper, and The 40 Year Old Virgin star, Paul Rudd. Although the play grossed nearly US$1 million dollars in ticket sales during its first week and was a commercial success throughout its limited run, most critics heavily criticized Roberts' performance. Roberts's two films released in 2006, The Ant Bully and Charlotte's Web, were both animated features for which she provided only voice acting. Her next film, Charlie Wilson's War, with Tom Hanks and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, directed by Mike Nichols and based on the book by former CBS journalist George Crile; it was released on December 21, 2007. Fireflies in the Garden, also starring Ryan Reynolds and Willem Dafoe is currently in post-production, with release set for 2008. It has also been announced that Roberts will star in The Friday Night Knitting Club, based on the novel of the same name by Kate Jacobs.