Julia Roberts’ 1999 Armpit Hair Reveal Was Not A Statement

In 1999, America’s sweetheart Julia Roberts appeared at the “Notting Hill” premiere, waving enthusiastically at fans in a short-sleeved, sequined, red shift dress. But what really caught the attention of onlookers was Roberts’ two small bushels of armpit hair.

A moment forever cemented in pop culture history, it sent shockwaves through the industry at the time, but now, it has become much more common to see starlets wearing sleeveless and strapless looks with unshaven armpits.

But while most women today choose to not shave their armpits in an effort to make a statement and buck the shaving tradition by going au naturel, the then 31-year-old Roberts had zero agenda while doing so.

During an appearance promoting her new 10-part Amazon mystery series “Homecoming” on “Busy Tonight,” Roberts, now 50, revealed she wasn’t intentionally trying to resist antiquated beauty standards or make a feminist point — she was simply being herself.

“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,” Roberts told host Busy Philipps. “So it wasn’t so much a statement, as it’s just part of the statement I make as a human on the planet, for myself.”

By: Maytinee Kramer