In her new movie, Wonder, Hollywood Star Julia Roberts
the role of a mother to a child
born with facial deformity
dedicated her life for her care until
until he enrolled in a school at 10
Roberts discovered the story of Wonder in the
list of bestselling books and purchased it on Amazon's website
in order to read it for her kids at bedtime.
she and her children were so moved by the story that she
decided to tell it in a movie
initially Oggie faces insults and bullying
and abuses from other kids at school
because of his deformed face
But his excellence in his
studies and his achievements in sciences
turn their disdain of him into admiration.
and gradually becomes the most popular kid at school
and this is an important message these days:
We shouldn't judge people by their look
Oggie's predicament impacts his entire family
but his mother pays the heaviest price
She stops working for 10 years in order
to take care of him and homeschool him
This is not uncommon for women in Hollywood
who sacrifice their careers in order
to take care of their children
When Oggies failed to assimilate with his school mates
he begs his mother to take him out of school
but she encourages him to be patient and persevere
until he achieves his goals
Roberts herself
went through similar experience
at the age of 17 when she moved from
Georgia, where she lived with her mother, to
New York, to try her luck with acting
Roberts works as a fashion model
while pursuing acting roles in
in TV and movies
But all the roles were small
Until she achieved her first leading
role in the comedy "Mystic Pizza"
in 1988.
In the following year, she garnered her first
Oscar nomination for Best Supporting actress
for the role a diabetic bride in
in "Steel Magnolia".
and in 1990
Roberts was catapulted to Hollywood Stardom
when she starred in Gary Marshal's film
"Pretty Woman" alongside
Hollywood's hottest star at the time, Richard Gere
In addition to amassing $464 million
in the box office
The film gained her an Oscar nomination in
the best supporting actress category
In the 1990's
Roberts was at the top of Hollywood
and starred in its biggest movies
Particularly romantic comedies
But she didn't win the Oscar for Best Actress
until 2000, when she played the role of
an environmental activist, Erin Brockovich in Steven Soderberg's movie
Erin Brokovich
What distinguished Roberts from other actresses is
that she was a combination of alluring beauty
and exceptional talent
In addition to winning important cinema awards
She was the only woman who was named by the People magazine
as the World's most beautiful woman 5 times
which made her the highest paid and most powerful actress in Hollywood
She was paid $25 million dollar for her role
in Mona Lisa Smiling in 2003
and in 2007 her wealth
was estimated $140 million
The studios investment in Roberts was not vain
Her films grossed over $2.5 billion
in the box office
In spite of giving birth to twins in 2005
and another child in 2008
she continued to work unceasingly
and winning awards. In 2014
she was nominated again for Best Supporting actress
for her role in
August Osage County
and for an Emmy for her role in "Normal Heart"
Interestingly, Owen Wilson who plays
her husband in Wonder is one year younger than her
And that's a testament to the positive change that has occured
in Hollywood these days towards women
These days, Roberts is getting ready to play
the lead in a political TV thriller Homecoming
directed by Sam Esmail
Meanwhile she can be seen in Wonder,
which has just been released
Sam Asi, BBC