The Hollywood myth Julia Roberts refuses to buy into: “I think that’s made up”
Julia Roberts first became a movie star in her early 20s, and she’s still a movie star almost four decades later despite drastically scaling back her workload in recent years.
One of the easiest ways to spot an A-lister is by their longevity, and another is to measure whether they’ve retained their star power despite lengthy periods of being absent from the public eye. Roberts has it on both fronts, which means she’s less likely to fall victim to one of Hollywood’s perceived myths than many of her contemporaries.
After Pretty Woman propelled her to superstardom, Roberts reigned as one of the modern era’s highest-paid and bankable female actors, headlining a string of box office hits, proving her dramatic gifts with an Academy Award-winning performance in Steven Soderbergh’s Erin Brockovich to hit that sweet spot between a name who can open a film and one who can be relied on to lead a prestige drama.
The success of her long-awaited return to the romantic comedy opposite George Clooney in 2022’s Ticket to Paradise underlined that her wattage had barely diminished after the movie recouped its budget three times over from cinemas despite boasting a pair of leads who were – gasp – over the age of 50.
That’s not intended to be a slight, though. Instead, the frothy caper went a long way to underlining Roberts’ point that roles don’t necessarily dry up and evaporate overnight for a woman in Hollywood once they hit that age. On the other hand, she’s famous enough that it doesn’t necessarily apply to her specifically, and many actors haven’t been as fortunate.
Geena Davis is an Oscar-winning performer, but she was open in admitting that she was practically shunned after hitting 40. Meryl Streep said something similar when she reached that benchmark, and that was ten years before the age Roberts used as the barometer to wave away suggestions there’s a cut-off point for anyone.
“I think that’s made up,” she told iPaper. “That at a certain age, the bell is going to ring, and you are done. I don’t think anybody buys into that. I don’t think I am special. I’ve always been fortunate that I have found the work I am looking for. I mean, 30 years is a long time, and I am grateful and satisfied.”
One positive is that it’s definitely less of an issue than it was in the past because it would take a seriously compelling case to stage with a straight face that Hollywood hasn’t had a generational problem of phasing out women from major parts once they’ve reached a certain age.
It’s a problem that’ll never be completely eradicated when every studio executive constantly wants their stars to be newer, fresher, and younger, but it’s not exactly untrue, as Roberts suggested.
