# In 1988, one movie turned Julia Roberts into an overnight star. It was promised to a 100,000,000-selling singer first

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1988-one-movie-turned-julia-roberts-into-an-overnight-star-it-was-promised-to-a-100000000-selling-singer-first/
- Published: 2026-10-23T16:45:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-23T17:25:56+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/one-movie-turned-julia-roberts-into-overnight-star/
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, Film, Music

## Key points

- *Mystic Pizza* helped propel Julia Roberts to stardom.
- Gloria Estefan was offered the role first but declined.
- Estefan chose to focus on music and sold over 100 million albums.

## Summary

Julia Roberts’ role in the 1988 film *Mystic Pizza* helped launch her rapid rise to fame. The part of Daisy Araújo was first offered to singer Gloria Estefan, whose decision to decline meant Roberts got an early opportunity that helped establish her screen presence.

By March 1991, Roberts, then 23, had received two Academy Award nominations and become one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors after just six films. Estefan said she turned down the role because she doubted her acting ability and wanted to focus on music; she later sold more than 100 million albums.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.