Notting Hill and the 10 best Julia Roberts movies

10. Pretty Woman

Original Release Date: March 23, 1990

Box Office Earnings: With a budget of  $14 million, Pretty Woman earned $463.4 million, roughly 30 times what production spent to make the film. On opening weekend alone, the film was number one at the box office, grossing $11,280,591 and averaged $8,513 per theater.

Critical Acclaim: At the 48th Golden Globe Awards, Pretty Woman was nominated for Best Motion Picture, while Roberts won Best Actress as the film’s lead. Roberts was also nominated for Best Actress for her role at the 63rd Academy Awards.

About the Role: Vivian Ward (Roberts) is a sharp-tongued, quick-witted prostitute living in L.A.’s redlight district, while Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) is a slick-suited corporate man from New York. Edward takes an interest in Vivian after an unconventional and comical meet-cute and hires her to be his girlfriend for a week. The so-called “business proposition” gets complicated as the days go by and Vivian finds herself breaking her golden rule: don’t fall for a client.

Simply the Best: While Pretty Woman masks itself as a gritty and humorous type of Cinderella story, Roberts’ natural confidence and charming candor gave the role of Vivian more substance than simply a damsel waiting to be rescued, making it one of the most classic and best Julia Roberts movies. In fact, it’s actually Vivian who brings Edward back to himself and saves him from a lonely life of racing to the top.