"I don't get angry very often. I lose my temper rarely. And when I do, there's always a legitimate cause. Normally I have a great lightness of being. I take things in a very happy, amused way"
About this Quote
Julia Roberts sells calm the way some stars sell chaos: as a brand that feels both intimate and strategic. The line is built like a character introduction in a romantic comedy - breezy, self-possessed, lightly self-mythologizing. She opens with restraint ("I don't get angry very often") and tightens it into a rare exception ("when I do"), then seals the deal with moral authorization: "there's always a legitimate cause". That's not just temperament; it's a bid for credibility in a culture that loves women as long as their emotions arrive pre-approved.
The real work happens in the contrast between temper and "lightness of being". That phrase borrows the aura of philosophy without getting bogged down in it, suggesting a kind of glamorous effortlessness. It's also a subtle act of control: anger is framed as an anomaly, not a messy human reflex, and happiness becomes her default setting - "happy, amused" reads like a public-facing posture as much as a private truth.
In the context of celebrity interviews, this is self-defense disguised as charm. Roberts came up in an era when actresses were expected to be both approachable and unthreatening, warm but never needy, strong but never "difficult". Her phrasing anticipates the tabloid impulse to pathologize a woman's irritation and preemptively rewrites it as justified, almost civic-minded. The subtext: if you ever see me angry, blame the situation, not me.
The real work happens in the contrast between temper and "lightness of being". That phrase borrows the aura of philosophy without getting bogged down in it, suggesting a kind of glamorous effortlessness. It's also a subtle act of control: anger is framed as an anomaly, not a messy human reflex, and happiness becomes her default setting - "happy, amused" reads like a public-facing posture as much as a private truth.
In the context of celebrity interviews, this is self-defense disguised as charm. Roberts came up in an era when actresses were expected to be both approachable and unthreatening, warm but never needy, strong but never "difficult". Her phrasing anticipates the tabloid impulse to pathologize a woman's irritation and preemptively rewrites it as justified, almost civic-minded. The subtext: if you ever see me angry, blame the situation, not me.
Quote Details
| Topic | Contentment |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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