It's become shorthand for classic nineties romantic comedy and, over two decades on from its conception, Notting Hill is still adored today.
So much so, that pockets of tourists regularly form outside the real-life Notting Hill Bookshop (which is nestled just off Portobello road) and the infamous line "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her" is instantly recognisable.
Yet, according to Julia Roberts, the cult-film as we know it almost wasn't meant to be, with Julia almost turning down her now-iconic role as fictional film star, Anna Scott.
In a candid interview with the film's screenwriter and rom-com legend, Richard Curtis, for British Vogue, Julia revealed that playing an actress in Notting Hill was "one of the hardest things" she's ever had to do - and she "loathed" being dressed as a movie star.
"I was so uncomfortable!" she added. "I mean, we’ve talked about this so many times, but I almost didn’t take the part because it just seemed – oh, it just seemed so awkward. I didn’t even know how to play that person."
Now, as she approaches her late fifties, the Hollywood powerhouse also reflected on how her attitude has changed over the years.
"I used to take everybody’s s**t all the time when I was a young person," she said. "Just sort of feel diminutive about things, juniorise yourself in every encounter."
As for when that came to an end, Julia said it was her mid-late twenties.
"I’m very forthright," Julia mused. "There are a lot of personalities in the world that don’t accept that easily, and it can seem really harsh, even if I feel like I’m just being honest about something and just saying this is how I see it. I never am trying to be unkind."
