Rising to prominence in the late 1980s, Julia Roberts quickly became one of the biggest stars of her generation, with her popularity continuing well into the 21st century. She has a career that’s lasted for approximately 35 years now, given her breakout role was in 1988, and she’s still working steadily to this day, with recent films including 2022’s Ticket to Paradise and the upcoming 2023 release Leave the World Behind.
She’s perhaps best known for starring in many acclaimed and high-grossing rom-coms, but this is far from the only type of film found within Roberts’s body of work. She’s been in large-scale productions and smaller films, and has excelled in both comedies and dramas, and those films that fall somewhere in between. Her best roles are ranked below, roughly going from good to greatest.
10 ‘Mystic Pizza’ (1988)
Those expecting a fantasy movie that somehow involves pizza may be let down by Mystic Pizza, but those looking for an enjoyable coming-of-age movie will find things to like. The title isn’t actually that misleading, either, given the film’s set in Mystic, Connecticut, and its main characters who live there and work in a pizza parlor.
Julia Roberts played one of these main characters, with the film ultimately serving as something of a breakout role for her, given Mystic Pizza’s success and the fact that it was one of her earliest movies. It doesn’t do much that other romantic dramedies centering on young people hadn’t already done, but it’s an overall pleasant watch, and sometimes, a film being comforting and largely relaxing is enough.
9 ‘August: Osage County’ (2013)
August: Osage County revolves around the chaotic lives of those belonging to the Weston family, and the events that transpire at a particularly hectic family gathering. It’s a dramedy that explores serious themes in a way that can be darkly funny, highlighting the tragic lives of these various characters and exploring their traumas through various actors giving bombastic performances, all thanks to a sharp screenplay that was originally a play.
The standouts of the cast, at least going by Oscar recognition, would be Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, with the former getting a nomination for Best Actress, and the latter getting a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Perhaps some will find two hours of family drama a little too much to handle, but others who can see the potential entertainment value of such a premise may well owe it to themselves to check out August: Osage County.
8 ‘Steel Magnolias’ (1989)
Oftentimes regarded as one of the most famous tearjerkers of all time, Steel Magnolias is likely to provoke strong emotional responses from many of its viewers. It gets sad while also balancing that material with a little comedy, with the premise revolving around the women who frequent a particular beauty shop, and the way these women bond and get through hard times together.
One year on from Mystic Pizza, Steel Magnolias represented a further step in Julia Roberts’s acting career, as she got her first Oscar nomination for her role here. But the rest of the cast also deserves recognition, and it is an impressive cast that was assembled here, as it includes the likes of Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, and Daryl Hannah.
7 ‘Notting Hill’ (1999)
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Richard Curtis is a well-known writer of romantic comedies, as he’s been behind some of the most famous in recent decades. Notting Hill’s one of them, though he didn’t direct it, like he did with some other rom-coms he penned, like Love Actually and About Time.
Notting Hill has a similar vibe, being funny and good-hearted, if perhaps a little bit too sappy in some places, in a way that may not be to everyone’s liking. It stars Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, with the former playing a world-famous actress and the latter playing the owner of a bookstore who finds his life forever changed by an unlikely romance that blossoms between the two. It’s a textbook rom-com through and through, but it works well enough to make for a fairly good time.
6 ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’ (2002)
Standing as arguably one of 2002’s most underappreciated movies, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is an interesting beast, and an undoubtedly oddball movie. It was directed by George Clooney, had a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, and has a noteworthy cast that includes the likes of Clooney, Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, Rutger Hauer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and, of course, Julia Roberts.
The movie is about Chuck Barris (Rockwell), a game show host who claimed to also be a CIA assassin, even undertaking vastly different roles at the same time in his life. It’s a movie that does justice to its wild premise, working as a darkly comedic “biopic” of sorts where you never know entirely what to believe and at a point, just have to accept that easy answers aren’t likely to come.
5 ‘Pretty Woman’ (1990)
There was a trio of films early on in Julia Roberts’s career that essentially established her dominance as a star who was here to stay: 1988’s Mystic Pizza, 1989’s Steel Magnolias, and then 1990’s Pretty Woman. The latter of those was the biggest of the three, earning a ridiculous amount of money at the box office and getting Roberts a second Oscar nomination.
You can call it a classic that hasn’t aged perfectly, but it’s hard to deny how big a deal it was at the time of release. It’s another Julia Roberts rom-com that centers on an unlikely romance — here, it’s between a young prostitute (Roberts) and a millionaire (Richard Gere), and though some might watch it today and not see what the big deal is, others may get swept up in a formulaic movie that does, somehow, still work quite well in places.
4 ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ (2001)
A classic from the early 2000s, Ocean’s Eleven revitalizes the 1960 film of the same name with an all-star cast of very recognizable Hollywood actors. It’s a classic heist film with a cast that includes, beyond Julia Roberts, the likes of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, and Elliott Gould.
It’s about a risky plan that involves stealing $150 million from three different Las Vegas casinos and all the preparations that come with assembling a team, forming a plan, and then adapting when things go wrong. It has a formula, confidently sticks with it, and what results is a great deal of fun (though its sequels didn’t manage to be quite as good).
3 ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ (1997)
In My Best Friend’s Wedding, Julia Roberts plays a food critic who’s invited to the wedding of a man whom she’s been platonic friends with for years. As it turns out, she realizes that maybe she does have feelings for him, with the film then becoming about her attempts to sabotage the wedding or risk losing the man she loves for good.
It’s a little more subversive than the average rom-com, getting a good deal of mileage out of playing certain tropes straight while subverting others. This makes it an entertaining watch for rom-com fans and cynics alike, with My Best Friend’s Wedding having a straightforward yet somewhat risky premise that makes it work.
2 ‘Closer’ (2004)
Given Closer revolves around relationships and was directed by Mike Nichols, who made many dramedies, one might be forgiven for assuming this 2004 film would approach rom-com territory. But watching the film makes it apparent right away that this is not going to be one of the lighter romance-centered movies featuring Julia Roberts. Not by a long shot.
It’s about two unhappy couples and what happens when various instances of cheating overlap and cause all four people to become tragically entangled. It houses one of Roberts’s best performances, and the acting from the rest of the main cast (Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen) is also incredibly strong, ensuring Closer is a difficult-to-watch yet undoubtedly powerful movie.
1 ‘Erin Brockovich’ (2000)
Telling a real-life story in a way that feels genuinely engaging, and perhaps a little more gritty than your average Hollywood movie, Erin Brockovich is a highlight of Julia Roberts’s filmography. Vitally, it’s also the film that won her an Oscar, as here, she plays the title character — a single mother who uncovers evidence of a cover-up in a town near to where she lives, and sets about trying to expose those responsible.
It’s a movie that mostly exists to showcase a strong central performance, and in that regard, Erin Brockovich is a success. The story told is fairly interesting and presented decently, with Albert Finney also giving a compelling supporting performance. It’s easy to watch, well-acted, and perhaps even inspiring, being an overall high-quality film, and perhaps Roberts’s best.
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