George Eastman Award: Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts was honored with the George Eastman Award for her distinguished contribution to the art of cinema at a sold out ceremony in the Dryden Theatre on Thursday, May 2, 2019. For more than thirty years, Julia Roberts has brought a cast of unforgettable characters to the screen. Her performances have brought her four Academy Award nominations and an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, as well as nine Golden Globe nominations and three Golden Globes.

After her breakthrough as Daisy in Mystic Pizza (1988), Roberts received a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting performance in Steel Magnolias (1989). Her role as Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman (1990) established Roberts as a Hollywood star and earned her another Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

In the following decade, Roberts played leading or major roles in The Pelican Brief (1993), Something to Talk About (1995), Michael Collins (1996), My Best Friend’s Wedding(1997), Notting Hill (1999), and Runaway Bride (1999). Her powerful and inspirational portrayal of the heroic protagonist in Erin Brockovich (2000), directed by Steven Soderbergh, earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and her third Golden Globe. Teaming again with Soderbergh, she gamely played the stunning and steely Tess Ocean in Ocean’s Eleven (2001).

Since 2004, while devoting time to her family, Roberts has played leading or key roles in Closer (2004), Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), Duplicity (2009), Eat Pray Love (2010), and Ben Is Back (2018), among many other motion pictures. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and a Golden Globe nomination for August: Osage County (2013).

Most recently, Roberts has been the lead actress and executive producer in Homecoming (2018)—an Amazon Prime television series. The series was nominated for three Golden Globes this year, including Best Television Series–Drama and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series–Drama for Roberts.