In August: Osage County (2013), Julia Roberts played Barbara Weston, the eldest daughter in a fractured Oklahoma family brought together after the disappearance of her father. Directed by John Wells from Tracy Letts’ play, the film follows Barbara as she confronts her mother Violet, played by Meryl Streep, and tries to hold her own family together.
Roberts gave Barbara fierce, exhausted honesty. She was a woman caught between loyalty to her family and the need to break free from its cycles of hurt, and her scenes with Streep were among the most praised in the film. The role earned Roberts an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
August: Osage County remains a signature Roberts role because it showed her dramatic power in full, without glamour or easy charm, only the hard, human truth of a daughter trying to survive her family.