Julia Roberts Named World's Most Beautiful Woman for Fifth Time

BY KAREN BRILL

APRIL 19, 2017 10:30 AM

Julia Roberts is the World's Most Beautiful Woman once more. People magazine bestowed Roberts the honor for 2017, making it her fifth time nabbing the title. It's her first time, however, in 17 years. (This latest feat marks a record for the title.)

For Roberts, that means bragging rights over frequent coworker and notorious prankster George Clooney. Clooney has been named People's Sexiest Man Alive twice, an impressive accomplishment to some but highly inferior to Roberts' record. Roberts joked to People, "I’m going to mention that in my Christmas card to the Clooneys this year." The actress also said she is "very flattered" by the selection, and expressed her belief that "I think I'm currently peaking," now that her "awkward" years are behind her.

Roberts inherits the title from 2016's Most Beautiful Woman and Roberts' own Mother's Day costar Jennifer Aniston. She previously was named World's Most Beautiful Woman in 1991, 2000, 2005, and 2010. The first time, when she was just 23 years old, was on the cusp on her instantly star-making role in 1990's Pretty Woman, though Roberts didn't realize the significance of the film at the time. She told People, "I remember reading…'Pretty Woman came out this weekend and made this much money,' and I thought, Is that a lot of money? Is that good? Is that great? I didn’t really know." The film was ultimately essential for Roberts, though, showing audiences that while she was indeed a pretty woman, she was also a whole lot more.

In terms of her own philosophy of beauty, Roberts has previously spoken out about her preference for more natural aging over getting major plastic surgery, once saying, "By Hollywood standards, I guess I've already taken a big risk in not having had a face-lift." While Hollywood seems to have a damned if you do, damned if you don't rule for women when it comes to plastic surgery, and while the choices female stars make remains nobody's business but theirs, Roberts words, particularly as they connect with her Beautiful title, are nonetheless refreshing.

GLAMOUR