Julia Roberts: A friend or foe in Hollywood?

Everyone knows her megawatt smile and infectious laugh, and she’s been America’s down-to-earth sweetheart longer than we can remember. Rising to irreversible fame with films like 'Steel Magnolias' and 'Pretty Woman,' and becoming Hollywood’s most bankable star by just 23 years old, Julia Roberts has certainly made a name for herself.

Of course, over the years, there have also been numerous tabloid tales surrounding her alleged diva antics, adding to the complex mythology behind the woman. But is she more of a friend or a foe? Click through to find out who loves her, and who could live without her.

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Garry Marshall loved her - The late director of 'Pretty Woman' described Roberts as "a cross between Audrey Hepburn, Lucille Ball and Bambi."

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Herbert Ross was especially harsh on her - The late 'Steel Magnolias' director was reportedly extremely harsh on set, telling all the stars that they couldn't act, but particularly going after Roberts.

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While he may not have liked her, others did - Co-stars Shirley MacLaine and Sally Field supported her throughout, and she called them "a consistent source of support and maternal grace."

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The start of her terrible tabloid reputation - While filming 1989's 'Steel Magnolias,' Roberts started dating co-star Dylan McDermott, and they got engaged. But she ended up breaking it off...for someone else.

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A married man - She reportedly left McDermott for her 'Flatliners' (1990) co-star Kiefer Sutherland, who was still married to Camelia Kath, the mother of his child.

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She won the Oscar for 'Steel Magnolias' - And thanked her "beautiful blue-eyed, green-eyed best friend, who gives me everything," referring to Sutherland, who has two different-colored eyes.

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She was around 23 years old - Hollywood's hottest couple had their drama, of course, as Sutherland reportedly moved to a seedy hotel and kept the company of a 24-year-old exotic dancer named Amanda Rice.

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A real-life 'Runaway Bride' - The wedding venue, 20th Century Fox's Soundstage 14, was being decorated for their June 14, 1991, wedding, but three days before they were to say "I do," Roberts reportedly pulled the plug.

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Scandal - The kicker is that she ran off with her fiancé's friend, Jason Patric, who co-starred with Sutherland in 'The Lost Boys.' He had reportedly been uninvited to the wedding by Sutherland, but the two ran off to Ireland together.

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They went public - It was difficult not to go public, as the press hunted them down everywhere they went, but they called things off in 1992.

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Sutherland still commends her - In 2006, Kiefer told Rolling Stone, "I commend Julia for seeing how young and silly we were, even at the last minute, even as painful and as difficult as it was. Thank God she saw it."

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An unfortunate time on Spielberg's 'Hook' -

Roberts was reportedly so difficult while filming 1991's 'Hook,' that the cast and crew nicknamed her "Tinkerhell."

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Steven Spielberg wasn't fond of their work -

Spielberg said on '60 Minutes' that it "was an unfortunate time for us to work together."

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Roberts heard about Spielberg's segment - She told Vanity Fair, "I saw that and my eyes popped out of my head ... I couldn't believe that this person that I knew and trusted was actually hesitating to come to my defense. It was a hard lesson to learn. It was the first time that I felt I had a turncoat in my midst."

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Julianna Margulies says Roberts was not kind to waiters - The 'Good Wife' star told David Letterman in 2010 that she had served Roberts at a restaurant once, adding, "She's lovely...when you're not waiting on her." The two met later in life and Roberts apologized.

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Rash decisions didn't help her reputation - Roberts married singer Lyle Lovett in 1993, three weeks after they'd started dating. They divorced two years later.

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Nick Nolte saw her as foe - On the set of 1994's 'I Love Trouble,' the pair played a newlywed couple, but had to shoot scenes separately and use stand-ins. According to the LA Times, Roberts threw temper tantrums while Nolte went out of his way to deliberately irritate her.

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Nick Nolte saw her as foe - In interviews, Roberts called Nolte "completely disgusting," and he said she was "not a nice person."

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Various other relationships with famous actors - All her relationships, including stars like Matthew Perry, Benjamin Bratt, and Daniel Day-Lewis, were tabloid fodder for claims about cheating scandals and heartbreak.

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Hugh Grant complained about their kissing scene - After filming 1999's 'Notting Hill,' Grant now-famously said she had "such a large mouth," and added, "I was aware of a faint echo as I was kissing her."

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But Roberts wasn't fazed - She said that despite how cruel he is about her looks she forgives him and she'd even work with him again.

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Rupert Everett is a big fan - "She's really Miss America, isn't she? She's got all the qualities that people want an American woman to have," Roberts' friend and 'My Best Friend's Wedding' co-star told Vanity Fair in 1999.

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Friends with George Clooney - In 2001, after Roberts joined the cast of 'Ocean's Eleven,' Clooney sent her a US$20 bill with "I heard you're getting 20 a picture" written on it, referring to the groundbreaking US$20 million she made for 'Erin Brockovich.'

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The Clooneys got advice from Roberts - He later asked her advice on having twins, to which she responded, "There's no such thing as wisdom when you have twin babies in the house. There's just hopes and prayers and tears and holding on tight to each other."

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The romantic tabloid frenzy quieted - Roberts settled down with cameraman Danny Moder after meeting on the set of 'The Mexican.' They tied the knot in a surprise ceremony in 2002, and now have three children together.

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Not so loved in South Carolina - After filming 1991's 'Sleeping With the Enemy' in Abbeville, she called the place "horribly racist" and a "living hell." More than 100 residents contributed money for a US$467 ad that appeared in Variety and said, "Pretty Woman? Pretty Low."

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She clarified why she said it - She later explained she was referring to an incident in which a Black friend who entered an Abbeville restaurant with her was refused service.

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Rumored drama with Meryl Streep - Tabloids went wild with the story that Streep couldn't stand Roberts, based on how Roberts allegedly threw Streep under the bus to get more screen time in 2013's 'August: Osage County' and ensure that the film ended on a shot of herself.

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This was far from the truth -

Roberts said of Streep, "Well, she's a goddess ... I think we're very like-spirited in our approach to family and work. I truly love her."

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Longtime friends with Jennifer Aniston - "She's so hot," Roberts said of her 'Mother's Day' co-star. "She's too gorgeous ... She's a lovely girl."

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Trouble with her brother - Eric Roberts didn't speak to her for about a decade following a 1993 custody battle over his daughter, Emma. Julia had sided with Eric's ex due to his drug abuse. They reunited, however, in 2004 when Julia had her twins. And, of course, Emma Roberts went on to find fame herself.

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Downright nasty to critics? - In a 2009 Fox News column, theater critic Roger Friedman claimed that at the ‘Duplicity’ premiere, Roberts was “rude, downright nasty, and dismissive. She snubbed me in front of other people to make her point … Her behavior was unexpected and chilling."

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She doesn't care what other people think -

"It's funny when people say, 'I don't think Julia likes me,'" she said. "Honey, if I don't like you, you're going to know about it."

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