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30 Best Julia Roberts Movies, Ranked

Looking for ideas for something to binge watch? How about a Julia Roberts marathon? The actress, one of the most successful ever, has a slew of enjoyable movies. Keep scrolling for the 30 best Julia Roberts movies, ranked!

1. The Normal Heart

2014

Director: Ryan Murphy
Based on the largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer, The Normal Heart takes place at the start of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s. Julia Roberts plays Dr. Emma Brookner, one of the country’s first doctors to recognize the AIDS epidemic. The Normal Heart was nominated for myriad awards, and also stars Mark Ruffalo and Jonathan Groff.

2. Ocean’s Eleven

2001

Director:Steven Soderbergh
This 2001 remake of the 1960s classic was a huge box office smash, and received rave reviews. The film follows Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his band of 10 accomplices, as they plan to simultaneously rob three Las Vegas casinos. Roberts is Tess, Danny’s ex-wife, but the current girlfriend of his main target.

3. Erin Brockovich

2000

Director:Steven Soderbergh
In Erin Brockovich, Roberts is the single mom and newly hired legal assistant who manages to expose a California power company’s pollution of a small town’s water supply. The film, based on a true story, won Roberts an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

4. Steel Magnolias

1989

Director: Herbert Ross
One of Roberts’s earliest films is Steel Magnolias a feel-good comedy about a the friendship and sisterhood that blossoms among a group of women at a salon in small town Louisiana.

5. Closer

2004

Director: Mike Nichols
Adapted from Patrick Marber’s 1999 play of the same name, Closer is a haunting portrait of two London couples: Larry and Anna, Dan and Alice. Things get complicated — and deceitful — when the man from one couple meets the woman from the other. Closer was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture – Drama, while Roberts’s co-stars, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman, were both nominated for Oscars for their performances.

6. Michael Collins

1996

Director: Neil Jordan
Starring Roberts alongside Liam Neeson and Aidan Quinn, Michael Collins is the fascinating biopic of the Irish revolutionary who led the National Army during the Irish Civil War and helped to create the Irish Free State.

7. August: Osage County

2013

Director: John Wells
Based on the play of the same name by Tracy Letts, August: Osage County is the chaotic story of the Weston family. A crisis brings the extended family members back home to Oklahoma in the heat of August, where tensions run high and dark secrets are revealed. Roberts portrays Barbara, the eldest Weston daughter, who returns to Osage County with her separated husband and teenage daughter in tow. The film also stars Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Sam Shepard, and Benedict Cumberbatch, to name but a few of the all-star cast.

8. Notting Hill

1999

Director: Roger Michell
In one of the most beloved romantic comedies of all time, Roberts plays Anna Scott, a massively famous movie star who happens to meet and fall in love with a simple bookshop owner (Hugh Grant). Notting Hill was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture, while both Roberts and Grant were recognized with Golden Globe nominations for their performances.

9. Pretty Woman

1990

Director: Garry Marshall
Julia Roberts’s breakout role remains one of her very best movies. In Pretty Woman, Roberts plays Vivian, a Hollywood prostitute who is hired as the escort for a powerful businessman — only to fall in love. The iconic role landed Roberts an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

10. Charlie Wilson’s War

2007

Director: Mike Nichols
In Charlie Wilson’s War, Tom Hanks depicts the Texas Congressman who took on covert dealings in Afghanistan, and assisted Afghani rebels in their war against the Soviets. Roberts plays Conservative socialite and Wilson’s political supporter Joanne Herring. The film was well received by both critics and audiences, and Roberts received a Golden Globe nomination for her supporting role.

11. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

2002

Director: George Clooney
Directed by Roberts good friend and frequent collaborator, George Clooney, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is the film adaptation of the cult memoir of Chuck Barris, a game show host who claims to have been a hitman for the Central Intelligence Agency.

12. Stepmom

1998

Director: Chris Columbus
Stepmom is the heartbreaking — yet heartwarming — story of a terminally ill woman (Susan Sarandon) who must deal with her ex husband’s new girlfriend, the woman who will become her children’s stepmother (Roberts).

13. Hook

1991

Director: Steven Spielberg
Hook is a creative re-telling of the classic Peter Pan. When the evil-as-ever Captain Hook kidnaps the children of the now-grown-up Peter Pan, Peter must return to Neverland to face his nemesis once and for all. Roberts plays Tinkerbell alongside co-stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Smith, and Bob Hoskins.

14. Conspiracy Theory

1997

Director: Richard Donner
Conspiracy Theory is an action thriller in which Mel Gibson plays Jerry Fletcher, a man obsessed with conspiracy theories. When one of his theories turns out to be accurate, he becomes the target of some very dangerous people. To save his life, he first has to figure out which one of his many theories are true. Roberts plays Alice, Jerry’s lover and one of the few people he can trust.

15. The Pelican Brief

1993

Director: Alan J. Pakula
In The Pelican Brief, Roberts plays Darby Shaw, a young law student who happens to stumble upon the truth behind the assassination of two Supreme Court justices. This captivating film is based on the bestselling novel by John Grisham, and also stars Denzel Washington.

16. Ocean’s Twelve

2004

Director: Steven Soderbergh
In this highly anticipated sequel to Ocean’s Eleven, Roberts returns as Tess. This time, Danny Ocean and his crew attempt to pull off three major heists in Europe.

17. Mona Lisa Smile

2003

Director: Mike Newell
Mona Lisa Smile is a beautiful and thought-provoking film that stars Roberts as Katherine Anne Watson, a free-thinking professor of art who finds herself teaching at Wellesley College. Over the course of the academic year, Katherine encourages the talented young women around her to question their traditional roles in society.

18. My Best Friend’s Wedding

1997

Director:P.J. Hogan
In this comedy, one of her most beloved movies, Roberts plays Julianne Potter, a food critic who happens to realize she is in love with her best friend in the days before he is set to marry someone else. Julianne’s attempt to win him for herself is both hilarious and cringe-worthy. It earned Roberts a Golden Globe nominee in the Best Actress category.

19. Charlotte’s Web

2006

Director: Gary Winick
This live action version of E.B. White’s classic children’s book portrays Roberts as Charlotte, a spider who lives in the pen of Wilbur the pig. She helps him reach his full potential in order to avoid the farmer’s dinner table.

20. Mystic Pizza

1988

26. Director: Donald Petrie
Mystic Pizza, released in 1988, is considered Julia Roberts’ first breakout role. In it, Roberts plays Daisy, one of three teenage girls coming of age while working at a pizza parlor in Mystic, Connecticut.

21. Larry Crowne

2011

Director: Tom Hanks
“It’s never too late in life to start living.” That’s the tagline for Larry Crowne, a Tom Hanks-directed dramedy about a Navy veteran who loses his job at a big box store, returns to college, and unexpectedly develops a crush on his teacher — Roberts, of course.

22. The Mexican

2001

Director: Gore Verbinski
The Mexican brings together Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt — two of the biggest Hollywood stars of this generation — in an adventure comedy about a man low on the mob totem poll, his girlfriend, and a gun called “The Mexican.” When given an ultimatum, Pitt and Roberts’ characters travel to Mexico to bring back the priceless gun, which is supposedly cursed.

23. Duplicity

2009

Director: Tony Gilroy
In Duplicity, Roberts stars alongside Clive Owen, her co-star from the award-winning film, Closer. The two play former government agents who find themselves rival industrial spies. Things get complicated when one’s company prepares to launch a major product.

24. Dying Young

1991

Director: Joel Schumacher
In Dying Young, Roberts plays Hilary, a young nurse who falls in love with a man who is terminally ill, portrayed by Campbell Scott.

25. Eat, Pray, Love

2010

Director: Ryan Murphy
In Eat, Pray, Love, Roberts helps to bring to life the massively popular memoir of the same name by Elizabeth Gilbert. When she realizes just how unhappy her marriage has become, Liz files for divorce and takes off on an around-the-world journey to find herself.

26. Mary Reilly

1996

Director: Stephen Frears
In Mary Reilly, Julia Roberts plays the titular character, a housemaid who falls in love with her boss, Dr. Henry Jekyll — and his mysterious counterpart, Mr. Edward Hyde.

27. America’s Sweethearts

2001

Director: Joe Roth
America’s Sweethearts is a Hollywood-based romantic comedy starring four of the biggest stars of their day: Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cusack, and Billy Crystal. Roberts plays Kiki, assistant to a major movie star, who also happens to be her sister, Gwen.

28. Mirror Mirror

2012

Director: Tarsem Singh Dhandwar
Mirror Mirror is a live-action retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The colorful and creative adaptation stars Roberts as the evil queen who steals control of a kingdom, while Lily Collins plays the exiled princess who enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win it back.

29. Runaway Bride

1999

Director: Garry Marshall
The team behind Pretty Woman reunited in 1999 to make Runaway Bride, a romantic comedy about a reporter who is tasked with writing a story about a woman who has left a string of fiancees at the altar.

30. Full Frontal

2002

Director: Steven Soderbergh
In Full Frontal, Roberts once again teams up with director Steven Soderbergh. The film follows a group of men and women living in Hollywood, in the hours leading up to a mutual friend’s birthday party.