Julia Roberts Wasn't Making A 'Statement' With Infamous Armpit Hair Moment & That's Why It's So Iconic
Being a woman is as exhausting as it is fun. From wondering about how many steps are too many steps in a skincare routine to getting self-conscious after realizing you forgot to shave your legs before stepping out in a dress, standards for women can feel quite high. Because why is a man's natural body state considered normal, but a woman having some underarm hair is treated like a crisis? Julia Roberts, who had a total cool-girl reign in the '90s, proved that it may not have to be such a crisis after all as she recapped an infamous moment from the 1999 Notting Hill premiere.
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At the premiere, Roberts was photographed with armpit hair. While the media had a frenzy analyzing the statement she was trying to make, the truth was actually much simpler. In a 2018 appearance on "Busy Tonight" hosted by Busy Phillips, the actor admitted (via Allure), "I think I just hadn't really calculated my sleeve length and the waving and how those two things would go together and reveal personal things about me."
That was it. There was no radical feminist manifesto; she just miscalculated her sleeve length. And that's what makes that moment so iconic. There doesn't always have to be a reason to just exist in your natural state. The "After the Hunt" star's accidental moment is a lesson in how women should normalize not feeling ashamed when they forget — or choose not — to shave their underarm hair.
It took years, but Julia Roberts built the endurance to simply not care
Some might cringe when reminded of a moment when the whole world got to see their underarm hair. When Busy Phillis brought up the iconic 1999 red-carpet photo, Julia Roberts, who is among the celebs that reminded us body hair is personal and not up for debate, didn't flinch. Her response was confident and unapologetic, because she was simply existing in her body.
But her unwavering confidence in being herself didn't just happen overnight. It's a mindset that the actor forged by surviving years of Hollywood, and the media attention that came with it. In an October 2025 interview with People, Roberts candidly reflected on how she lacked confidence early in her career and how facing harsh critics shaped her into the unshakable figure she is today.
"I encountered early on, not a lot but a few critical people who were really cruel, and it was a really interesting challenge for me to decide the kind of person I wanted to strive to be," she shared. This made her realize that for her to survive in the cutthroat world of showbiz, she had to overcome her insecurities and stand her ground so as not to be swayed by public embarrassment or petty criticism.