Julia Roberts Is 'One Tough Lady,' 'Pretty Woman' Director's Widow Says

“Pretty Woman” director Garry Marshall’s widow, Barbar Marshall, talked about the making of the film in a recent interview, where she shared details about how Julia Roberts prepared to play her role in the film. The actress was cast as a hooker, and she apparently spent some time with prostitutes to play the part well.

The film “Pretty Woman” was released in 1990 and it is arguably one of Roberts’ best films ever. The director’s widow was volunteering at the Los Angeles free clinic at that time, and she also helped her husband with his films.

In an interview with Page Six, Marshall revealed that Richard Gere, who played male lead Edward Lewis in “Pretty Woman,” did not visit the clinic because he was afraid of catching a disease as he was a hypochondriac. However, Roberts was ready to visit the clinic and meet with the patients after the director made the suggestion.

“I recruited two young women who came to the clinic regularly, and I paid them $35 each to meet with Julia,” Marshall said.

During one of the actress’ visits, she decided to take a drive with a group of girls there to Hollywood Boulevard. Roberts was apparently casual about going out with the girls. Marshall, however, “panicked” and called her husband to let him know what happened. Her worry was that the actress would not come back alive.

After some time Roberts did return safe and sound, much to the relief of Marshall. The “Pretty Woman” director’s widow called the actress “one tough lady” who can take care of herself both on camera and off-screen.

Roberts is continuing to put her acting skills to good use and she has decided to star in and executive produce a new limited series for Amazon, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The new series is an adaptation of Jo Piazza’s novel “Charlotte Walsh Likes To Win.”

The actress has also been attending events and meeting friends. She attended the Oscars 2019 event and shared a picture of her meeting with “Ant-Man” actor Paul Rudd on Instagram.