Editing Julia Roberts (section)

===1980s===
Following her first television appearance as a juvenile rape victim in the first season of the series ''[[Crime Story (U.S. TV series)|Crime Story]]'', with [[Dennis Farina]], in the episode "The Survivor", broadcast on February 13, 1987, Roberts made her big screen debut in the dramedy ''[[Satisfaction (1988 film)|Satisfaction]]'' (1988), alongside [[Liam Neeson]] and [[Justine Bateman]], as a band member looking for a summer gig. (She had filmed a small role in 1987 opposite her brother [[Eric Roberts|Eric]], in ''[[Blood Red (film)|Blood Red]]'', though she only had two words of dialogue, and it was not released until 1989.) In 1988, Roberts had a role in the fourth-season finale of ''[[Miami Vice]]'' and her first critical success with moviegoers came with the independent romantic comedy  ''[[Mystic Pizza]]'',<ref name=tca>Stated on ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]'', 1997</ref> in which she played a Portuguese-American teenage girl working as a waitress at a pizza parlor. [[Roger Ebert]] found Roberts to be a "major beauty with a fierce energy" and observed that the film "may someday become known for the movie stars it showcased back before they became stars. All of the young actors in this movie have genuine gifts".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mystic-pizza-1988 |title=Mystic Pizza |website=rogerebert.com |date=October 21, 1998 |access-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=March 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310123116/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mystic-pizza-1988 }}</ref>

In ''[[Steel Magnolias]]'' (1989), a [[film adaptation]] of [[Robert Harling (writer)|Robert Harling]]'s [[Steel Magnolias (play)|1987 play of the same name]], Roberts starred as a young bride with [[diabetes]], alongside [[Sally Field]], [[Dolly Parton]], [[Shirley MacLaine]] and [[Daryl Hannah]]. The filmmakers were looking at both [[Laura Dern]] and [[Winona Ryder]] when the casting director insisted they see Roberts, who was then filming ''Mystic Pizza''.<ref name="jrrefn">{{cite web |url=https://www.southernliving.com/news/steel-magnolias-robert-harling-true-story |title=Julia Roberts Wasn't the Original Actor Cast as Shelby in Steel Magnolias |work=Southern Living |first=Rebecca Angel |last=Baer |date=May 24, 2019 |access-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=December 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219060905/https://www.southernliving.com/news/steel-magnolias-robert-harling-true-story }}</ref> Harling stated: "She walked into the room and that smile lit everything up and I said 'that's my sister', so she joined the party and she was magnificent".<ref name="jrrefn" /> Director [[Herbert Ross]] was notoriously tough on newcomer Roberts, with Sally Field admitting that he "went after Julia with a vengeance. This was pretty much her first big film".<ref name="jrrefn" /> Nevertheless, the film was a critical and commercial darling when it was released,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/steel_magnolias |title=Steel Magnolias |website=Rotten Tomatoes |date=November 15, 1989 |access-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118045953/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/steel_magnolias }}</ref> and Roberts received both her first Academy Award nomination (as [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]) and first Golden Globe Award win ([[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress]]) [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Motion Picture]] for her performance.<ref name=tca/>