Understanding Julia Roberts’ Net Worth, Career Earnings and Family Life

Julia Roberts is an American actress and producer best known for her 1990 movie Pretty Woman which was a box office hit grossing over $464 million at the worldwide box office. Within a career that spans over 3 decades, Julia Roberts’ movies have collectively grossed at least $3 billion at the global box office.

Her Background and Career Beginnings

Julia Fiona Roberts was born on October 28, 1967, in Smyrna, Georgia. She is one of those actors who didn’t initially aspire to become an entertainer. In her case, Roberts hoped to become a veterinarian, however, when she was unable to deal with the brainiac work science required, she changed her mind. She attended Georgia State University but dropped out and relocated to New York in 1985 joining her siblings who had earlier made up their minds on an entertainment career.

In New York, she attended acting classes and supported herself with minor modelling gigs after signing with Click Modeling Agency. Like most wannabees, Roberts started small, taking up as many small roles as she could both in films and TV shows. However, her rise to fame was rapid. Three years after joining the acting industry, Roberts received her first acclaim with her role in Mystic Pizza (1988).

The next year was even better. Julia Roberts received her first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her highly acclaimed role in Steel Magnolias. She received $90,000 from the profits of the movie.

The diva’s acting career, however, was put on hold for a while following her divorce from her then-husband, Lyle Lovett, but she regained her place in the hearts of movie lovers with hits like My Best Friends Wedding, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride (again with Richard Gere) and Conspiracy Theory.

The new millennium saw Roberts reach unprecedented heights. She played the title role in 2000 film Erin Brockovich for which she won her first Oscar Award and received $20 million, making her the first Hollywood actress to earn a paycheck that substantial.

Julia Roberts continued winning throughout the 2000’s most notably in The Ocean’s film series, and 2007’s Charlie Wilson’s War.

Julia Roberts Has Been In And Out Of Several Relationships 

While her career was reaching sky high limits, Julia’s personal life was suffering from the pressure of stardom. She called off her wedding to Kiefer Sutherland 3 days before the D-day slated for June 11, 1991. Consequently, Roberts took a 2-year hiatus from acting, leaving fans worried about the future of their favourite actress.

However, Roberts returned with a bang in 1993 with the thriller “The Pelican Brief” with Denzel Washington. For the second time, Roberts allowed her personal life get in the way of her career when her 1993 marriage to singer Lyle Lovett survived only two years as the couple divorced in 1995. Roberts then decided to take it slow with marriages, focusing more on her career and my! we are grateful she did…

Two years after her divorce, Julia remained single till she started dating actor Benjamin Bratt in 1998. Their relationship lasted for about three years.

In 2001, the ever-smiling actress, just like her parents, met her current husband and cameraman Daniel Moder on set while filming The Mexican. At the time, Roberts was dating Benjamin Bratt while Moder was married to Vera Steimberg.

Read More: 18 Highest Paid Actresses In The World 

A little more than one year after the couple kicked off their sizzling affair, Benjamin’s union with his wife was legally annulled, creating room for Julia to step in as his wife. On July 4, 2002, the lovebirds tied the knot. They have three children together including twins Hazel Patricia and Phinnaeus “Finn” Walter and son, Henry Daniel. As of 2017, Roberts and Moder were still married.

The undeniably talented actress comes from a family of actors.

As a matter of fact, her parents-Walter Grady Roberts and Betty Lou Bredemus – were actors who met on a theatre production set and got married in 1955. They owned a children’s acting school in Decatur, Georgia where the children of Martin Luther King, Jr. attended. Their union produced three children including Julia Roberts, her older brother, Eric, who is 10-years older than her, and her sister Lisa.

However, the marriage crashed fifteen years later as Julia’s mother filed for divorce in 1971. Consequently, the duo went their separate ways in 1972 and in the same year, Julia Roberts mother remarried. Her second marriage to Michael Motes also hit the rocks eleven years later following allegations of abuse. The union produced Julia’s step-sister, Nancy Motes, who died of drug overdose on February 9, 2014, aged 37.

Towing the path of their parents, Julia and all her siblings ventured into the acting industry and have each recorded success at different levels.

Her brother Eric Anthony Roberts kicked off his acting career in 1978 with the performance of King of the Gypsies and the role of Paul Snider in the 1983 movie, Star 80, which earned him his very first and second Golden Globe Award nomination respectively. He also played a supporting role in the American movie Runaway Train (1985) among many other roles in both films and television drama.

Their age difference notwithstanding, Julia and Eric were once very close but things fell apart between them after Eric started having issues with drug and alcohol abuse.

At the onset of the siblings’ rift, Julia moved out of her parents’ house to live with her brother who at the time, was in a relationship with Kelly Cunningham, his longtime girlfriend. Their relationship (Eric and Kelly) went sour following Eric’s abuse of drugs and alcohol. Julia took sides with Kelly against her brother and even went as far as assisting her financially to pay her legal defense in order to gain custody of their daughter. This strained the brother-sister relationship between the actors and they remained estranged until 2004.

Lisa Roberts Gillan, on the other hand, is also not only an actor but a producer too. Although she has been successful in the industry, Lisa has always been overshadowed by Julia’s fame and is best known not for her own achievements but just as Julia Roberts sister.

Analysis of Julia Roberts Net Worth

Between 2015 and 2016, Julia Roberts earned $28 million from all her endeavours. Per findings, JustRichest estimates Julia Roberts’ net worth is at $200 million. From the late 1990s, Julia Roberts began earning 7 figures per movie role. She was the first actress ever to score $20 million for a single role.

Roberts parlayed her Steel Magnolias performance with a lead role in Pretty Woman alongside Richard Gere. The movie became a major hit, establishing her as the new Hollywood star on the block. Pretty Woman had a budget of $14 million and grossed over $463 million at the global box office. Roberts was paid $300,000 for her role. That same year, she received half a million dollars for her role in Flatliners. She also hit jackpot with Sleeping with the Enemy (1991) receiving $1 million. The movie made $175 million against a $19 million budget.

Her subsequent 1991 outings– Dying Young and Hook didn’t appeal much to movie-goers, regardless, Roberts still earned $3 million and $7 million respectively.

By 2007 her net worth per Forbes reached $140 million, making her the 8th Richest woman in entertainment and the richest actress in Hollywood.

Even in recent years, Julia Roberts remains a force to be reckoned with. Though she is less seen on the big screens, she supplements her acting gig with lucrative endorsement deals. Her endless list of accolades includes 3 Golden Globe Awards and 1 Oscar Award.

Recent Endeavors and Endorsements

Julia Roberts has definitely left her footprints in the sands of Hollywood time. In recent years, she’s been more interested in starring in movies she can describe as “good” rather than just for the money. And while that has seen her earnings dip, the veteran still earns enough to become a Forbes list regular. Roberts sometimes strikes a deal to earn a percent of the total movie gross. She was paid $25 million for her role in 2003 movie “Mona Lisa Smile”. It remains her highest paycheck for a single role. The movie earned $141.3 million against a $65 million budget

In addition to acting, Roberts has transformed her star power to shilling for luxury brands. She has been a global ambassador for beauty brand  Lancôme since 2009. In 2010, the company signed her to a 5-year deal worth $50 million. Her other endorsement partners include Givenchy and Calzedonia. In 2006 she was paid $6 million to endorse Gianfranco Ferre.

Julia Roberts also banks as an executive producer under her own production company Red Om Films of which her fellow actress sister Lisa Gillan is a co-founder. The company produced the TV series “American Girl.”

Top Salaries and Earnings Per Role

Houses and Real Estate

Julia bought a Manhattan apartment in 2010 for $4 million. She later listed it for $4.5 million. She owns a ranch in Taos, New Mexico valued at $2.5 million. In 2011 she bought Faye Residence, an estate in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii for $13.4 million and sold it for $16.2 million in 2015 after originally listing it for almost $30 million.

Roberts owns two $7 million properties in the Point Dume area in Malibu. She bought the first one in 2003 and tore it down only to erect a 100% eco-friendly mansion dubbed “Green mansion.” The Green mansion is estimated to be valued at about $30 million. She bought the second property in February 2016.

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT JULIA ROBERTS

• She played clarinet in high school.
• Her older brother, Eric Roberts, sister Lisa Roberts Gillan, and niece Emma Roberts are also actors.
• She believes in and practices Hinduism. She even names her children after Hindu gods.
• Roberts has been named People magazine’s most beautiful people on the planet at least 11 times.
• Julia Roberts literally has a million dollar smile; she had it insured for $30 million!