Julia Roberts and George Clooney’s Friendship Timeline

2000: George Clooney and Julia Roberts meet

“We met on Ocean’s,” Clooney told PEOPLE in 2015 of encountering Roberts for the first time. “We had actually never met before. People just thought we had.” Added Roberts, “He and [director] Steven Soderbergh called me into a little meeting, I think to see if they liked me.”

 

Dec. 7, 2001: George Clooney and Julia Roberts star alongside each other for the first time

Ocean’s Eleven premiered on Dec. 7, 2001, marking the first film in which Clooney and Roberts starred opposite each other. Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy García and Bernie Mac were among the actors who appeared alongside them in the ensemble cast.

 

Dec. 31, 2002: George Clooney directs Julia Roberts in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Clooney helmed the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind which premiered on Dec. 31, 2002. The fictionalized take on the life of game show host Chuck Barris starred Clooney himself, alongside Roberts and Sam Rockwell.

 

May 5, 2008: George Clooney and Julia Roberts serve as Met Gala co-chairs

Anna Wintour named Clooney and Roberts co-chairs at the 2008 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The theme that year was “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” with honorary chair Giorgio Armani.

 

Nov. 10, 2013: Julia Roberts honors George Clooney at the BAFTA Britannia Awards

Roberts presented Clooney with the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film at the 2013 BAFTA Britannia Awards held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, California. During her heartfelt speech honoring the actor, she made sure to poke some fun at him too.

The actress quipped that there were two reasons she was presenting the award to Clooney: “One, Brad Pitt was out of town. Two, Matt Damon, he’s in town but he was unavailable.”

 

Jan. 10, 2014: George Clooney produces Julia Roberts’ drama August: Osage County

The friends worked alongside each other again when Clooney produced August: Osage County in 2014. Roberts starred in the film alongside Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and Abigail Breslin.

 

Oct. 20, 2014: Julia Roberts gives George Clooney marital advice

Although Roberts wasn’t in attendance at Clooney and wife Amal’s wedding, she told Access Hollywood the advice she’d give the newlyweds. “Well, the only advice for [having a happy marriage] is finding your person and he’s found his person,” the actress said.

Ahead of the couple’s wedding, Roberts opened up to Ellen DeGeneres about her thoughts on Amal. “I think it’s sublime,” the actress said noting she hadn’t yet met Amal at the time but knew all about her. “She is beautiful and smart and he is happy and that’s what matters to me.”

 

May 14, 2015: George Clooney recalls introducing wife Amal Clooney to Julia Roberts

Clooney made it a point to set up a dinner date with wife Amal and Roberts to finally introduce the pair. During a 2015 interview with Extra, Roberts reminisced about the interaction.

When asked if Clooney’s new wife got her official seal of approval, Roberts smiled and said, “Oh yes, George doesn’t need my approval, but I am quite enamored of her.”

As for Clooney, the actor enjoyed watching the two ladies bond during the outing. “It was so much fun to have her meet my wife and have both of them be such good friends and hit it off so well,” he told E! News.

 

Sept. 18, 2015: Julia Roberts says George Clooney took care of her while she was pregnant

During an interview with Allure, Roberts recalled the time when her relationship with Clooney went from professional to personal. Specifically, she referenced how he supported her when she was pregnant with twins in 2004.

“It was such a sweet shift in our relationships because originally, it was all pranks and teasing each other,” Roberts told the outlet. “And here I am pregnant, so it’s like pulling out my chair and just making sure I have enough water and, ‘Are you feeling okay? You look a little peaked.’”

 

May 12, 2016: Julia Roberts remembers the first time she thought George Clooney was ‘handsome’

While chatting with PEOPLE ahead of the premiere of their film Money Monster, Roberts admitted that the first time she noticed Clooney was when he appeared on the NBC drama Sisters as Detective James Falconer.

“You were so handsome,” Roberts told the actor during their paired interview.

“She’s so lying,” Clooney retorted. “She watched The Facts of Life.”

 

May 13, 2016: George Clooney and Julia Roberts star alongside each other in Money Monster

Clooney and Roberts starred opposite each other in Money Monster, which was released on May 13, 2016.

In the film, Jack O’Connell played an unhinged investor who hijacks a financial show hosted by Clooney’s character, while Roberts starred as the show’s producer who must scramble to save her staff’s lives.

 

May 18, 2016: George Clooney and Julia Roberts discuss their 15-year-long friendship

While promoting their film Money Monster, Roberts talked to PEOPLE about the realness of her friendship with Clooney. “What a relief we’re not Hollywood friends,” Roberts said of her costar. “I just said to him an hour ago, ‘Thank god we really do like each other, or we’d be in hell.’”

Clooney recalled: “She stayed at my house in Italy when she was first pregnant. She brought all those monsters [Roberts’s kids Hazel, Phinnaeus and Henry] back to the house when they were actual human beings and we’ve had a blast with them.”

“What he’s saying is we’ve just stitched our lives closer together,” clarified Roberts. “All these people that come into our lives; my husband, my children, his wife Amal Clooney. We just keep stitching our lives closer together.”

 

May 19, 2017: Julia Roberts gives George Clooney parenting advice

When asked on The Ellen DeGeneres Show about the parenting advice she’d give to Clooney and Amal, Roberts explained that it’d be something they’d figure out as they go.

“It’s gonna be so fun, they are a great couple and they don’t need advice from me or anybody else,” the actress told DeGeneres. “Also, nobody’s there with you at 3:00 a.m. in the morning when you’re just going, ‘What am I doing?’” she added.

 

Dec. 17, 2021: Julia Roberts crashes George Clooney’s interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Roberts quietly crashed Clooney’s virtual interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, briefly sliding into the frame for a hilarious cameo. The actor was chatting with the host and newcomer Daniel Ranieri about his and the young actor’s new movie The Tender Bar when the Pretty Woman star popped in for a few moments.

“George, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but there’s a woman sitting next to you,” the comedian teased, as Clooney playfully pretended he didn’t see a thing.

As Roberts rolled away, Kimmel joked, “Maybe I hallucinated that. It looked like Julia Roberts though.”

 

Jan. 27, 2022: George Clooney says he confided in Julia Roberts before committing to Ticket to Paradise

When Ticket to Paradise, a romantic comedy about a divorced couple who team up to try to stop their daughter’s wedding, was still in its production, Clooney revealed to Deadline that he phoned Roberts before committing to the role in the film. The two agreed that they would only take the job if the other was going to do it.

Clooney explained: “The minute I read [the script] I called Julia, and I said, ‘Did you get this?’ and she said, ‘Yeah,’ and I said ‘Are you going to do it?’ and she goes ‘Are you going to do it? and I said, ‘Yeah, if you do it,’” he added. “So it was just one of those very lucky things.”

 

May 20, 2022: Julia Roberts opens up about reuniting with George Clooney

During an interview with Variety, Roberts talked about reuniting with former costar Clooney for Ticket to Paradise.

“Christ. I knew this would come up. Watch, the real acting happens now. Ready? [She puts on a big smile.] George, isn’t he great!?” the actress joked.

“I think it’s so funny, and George is so funny, and George and I together, it’s probably going to be terrible because there’s too much potential for it to be great, it’ll just implode on it itself,” Roberts continued.

“I think that should be the commercial for the movie: ‘It’s probably going to be terrible,’” she added, before playfully teasing, “I’m so glad my publicist is on a plane right now.”

 

Sept. 5, 2022: George Clooney talks about kissing Julia Roberts in Ticket to Paradise

In Ticket to Paradise, Clooney and Roberts play a divorced couple who reunite to thwart the impending marriage of their daughter, played by Kaitlyn Dever. The actor joked with The New York Times about what it took to get a perfect shot of them kissing while filming the movie.

“Yeah. I told my wife, ‘It took 80 takes,’ ” Clooney told the outlet. “She was like, ‘What the hell?’”

“It took 79 takes of us laughing and then the one take of us kissing,” Roberts added, to which Clooney responded, “Well, we had to get it right.”

 

Sept. 28, 2022: Amal Clooney says her kids call Julia Roberts ‘Auntie JuJu’

During an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, Amal revealed that her and Clooney’s twins Ella and Alexander call Roberts “Auntie JuJu,” adding that they “greatly admire” the actress’ family.

 

Oct. 12, 2022: George Clooney and Julia Roberts explain why they’ve never dated

In an interview with Access Hollywood, the Ticket to Paradise costars chatted further about their friendship — including why they never dated, or took things to “a different level.”

“Julia was always in a relationship, or I was in a relationship. And we were fast friends right away,” Clooney explained. “So it was nothing, but it’s been nothing but fun for us. So, I don’t think that was ever really a thing.”

 

Oct. 13, 2022: Julia Roberts reveals the name she has George Clooney saved as in her phone contacts

During an interview with YouTuber Jake’s Takes, Roberts revealed that she has Clooney’s number saved in her phone as “Batman Cell” with no picture to accompany the contact. “Now I have to change it,” realized the actress.

“Now everybody knows,” Clooney joked. “And mine’s ‘Pretty Woman’ — it’s not, but I just tried. I’m literally lying about that.”

“I don’t put ‘Julia Roberts’ because if my phone gets picked up then all hell breaks loose,” he added. “I think it’s just ‘JR’ or something like that.”

 

Oct. 17, 2022: George Clooney and Julia Roberts attend the Ticket to Paradise premiere

Clooney and Roberts hit the red carpet at the Ticket to Paradise premiere in Los Angeles, California. The costars were all smiles as they posed alongside each other for photos.

 

Oct. 18, 2022: George Clooney and Julia Roberts reminisce about their 22-year-long friendship

As Ticket to Paradise hit theaters, costars sat down with PEOPLE about their friendship and revealed the secret that has kept them close over the course of 24 years.

“I think we enjoy the same things. We love the work, but we don’t make the work our entire life,” said Clooney. “It makes going to work really fun. It’s very easy for us.” The actress added, “We have a similar approach to life.

“Listen, the thing about Julia, one of the many great qualities, is she is consistent in her loyalty and in her friendship and in her kindness,” said Clooney. “So if you’d ask me what’s different, I’d say that with the exception of us getting a little bit older, nothing in terms of who we are, or who you are.”

 

Dec. 4, 2022: Julia Roberts wears a dress covered in photos of George Clooney

Roberts attended the Kennedy Center Honors, where Clooney was celebrated for his contributions to American culture. In support of her friend, the actress wore a custom black Moschino gown that featured a collage of Clooney photos through the years: from his days on ER to more recent projects.