Actress Julia Roberts' win of her ninth People's Choice Award is a sign of the American public's remarkable¹ and enduring love affair with the Erin Brockovich actress. She may have an Oscar, a Bafta and three Golden Globes but nothing on Julia Roberts' mantelpiece can be as impressive as her now nine People's Choice awards.

For more than a decade Roberts has proved herself America's favourite sweetheart, winning the award for the past four consecutive² years.

She has seen off competition from the likes of Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez and upcoming stars like Kirsten Dunst can only imagine what such popular appeal is like.

"I am proof positive that anything is possible in your life. I am just a girl from Smyrna, Georgia who wanted to be in movies," Roberts once said and it is a sentiment that clearly touches American audiences.

But she has not been lighting³ up cinemas in the last 12 months, taking a series of supporting roles and cameo performances.

Roles in Confessions⁴ of a Dangerous Mind and Full Frontal have been low key but Roberts' appeal has never been tied to her box office success.

In 1991 she won the award for the first time, even though her only film of the year was the poorly-received Hook, in which she appeared as a six-inch Tinkerbell.

A year later and she repeated the success, despite not appearing in a single film during the preceding 12 months.

She has an appeal which transcends⁵ the harsh eye of the box office, achieving a level of popularity unequalled since the days of Hollywood stars of the 1940s and 1950s.

Garry Marshall, who directed Roberts in Pretty Woman and The Runaway⁶ Bride, described the actress as a blend of Audrey Hepburn, Lucille Ball and Bambi.

Perhaps it is that mix of the vulnerable, the stylish⁷ and the homespun which makes her such a fans' favourite.

The reason for her success in remaining close to the affections of the American public may lie in the very spirit of the awards themselves.

The Peoples' Choice awards do not recognise performances in individual films or productions but are instead awarded after a poll of the American public.

女星朱莉娅·罗伯茨第9次获得“最受欢迎女演员奖”，可见美国大众对这位艾琳·布劳克维奇扮演者的热爱非凡而又执着。

朱莉娅·罗伯茨曾获得过奥斯卡奖、英国电影电视艺术学院奖，并三度获得金球奖，但是没有一个奖能像这9次“最受欢迎女演员奖”一样令人难忘。

十多年来，罗伯茨证明了她是美国最受欢迎的“甜心”。她在过去的四年中蝉联“最受欢迎女演员奖”。

她打败了包括桑德拉·布洛克、卡梅隆·迪亚兹、哈利·贝瑞、珍妮佛·洛佩兹在内的同期著名影星。而对于克尔斯滕·邓斯特等新星来说，她们只能在想象中体验一下如此受宠的感觉了。

罗伯茨曾经说：“人的一生中什么都可能发生，我就是个铁证。我不过是个来自乔治亚州士麦那城的普通女孩，想要拍电影而已。”无疑正是这种情感打动了美国观众。

然而在过去的一年里，她并没有惊人之作，只是出演了一系列配角和小品。

她在《危险思想的自白》和《正面全裸》中扮演的角色很低调，然而罗伯茨的吸引力从来都不取决于她的票房成绩。

1991年，她第一次获得“最受欢迎女演员奖”，尽管那年她拍的唯一一部电影《霍克船长》反响一般。她在片中饰演六英寸高的小叮当。

一年后，她再次成功。尽管之前的12个月中她一部电影都没有拍。

罗伯茨的魅力超越了无情的票房所具有的观察力。20世纪四五十年代的好莱坞明星时代以来，无人能够与她媲美。

罗伯茨出演了加里·马歇尔执导的电影《漂亮女人》和《逃跑新娘》，他说罗伯茨身上聚集了奥黛丽·赫本、露西尔·鲍尔和小鹿斑比的特点。

也许正是这种敏感、时尚和朴实的交融使她成为如此受影迷欢迎的女演员。

她之所以能够成功地保持和美国公众亲密的感情，原因可能在于该奖项本身所提倡的精神。

“最受欢迎女演员奖”不是通过在一部电影或作品中的表演来评价一位演员的，而是由美国大众投票决定的。