Julia Roberts, born in Smyrna, Georgia, followed her brother Eric’s footsteps to enter the movie business. From the very beginning, the actress got a grip of the drill and showcased what she is capable of. She debuted with a girl band drama, Satisfaction, and created waves with her performance in her next project, Mystic Pizza, which earned her a lot of attention. Soon after that, she smashed the Hollywood box office with the movie Pretty Woman in 1990. She gained her first Oscar nomination.
Over the years, Julia established her career and built an empire on her own in the industry. She now has a huge body of work that people look up to. But did you know she was the first actress who broke the pay parity situation and signed a check with the same amount as a male actor was receiving back at that time?
How Julia Roberts Bagged $20 Million For Her Role In Eric Brockovich?
During the late nineties and early twenties, Julia Roberts was everywhere. From rom-com genres like Notting Hill to playing more realistic characters like in Erin Brockovich, she has done it all. In Steven Soderbergh‘s movie, Julia portrayed a dogged, unemployed single mother who becomes a legal assistant in a multi-billion-dollar California power company.
During this time, the standard paycheck was $20 million for all the A-listed male actors like Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, and others. However, Julia was the first female actor who command that amount for her role in Erin Brockovich. Even though Universal Pictures was reluctant to give her this amount, her manager reportedly convinced the studios to put faith in her. Her manager argued that the actress had given $100 million in business in her last five films, so just like the male actors as Leonardo DiCaprio, she also deserves the same.
Julia Roberts proved that she was worthy of the hefty paycheck that she had asked for as the movie went on to earn $125 million at the US box office, along with 5 nominations at the Oscars, including Best Picture.
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