9 Surprising “Pretty Woman” Behind-the-Scenes Facts (Including the Film's Original Title!)
9 Surprising “Pretty Woman” Behind-the-Scenes Facts (Including the Film's Original Title!)
Maria Yagoda, Katie Labovitz, Emily KrauserSat, April 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC
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Richard Gere as Edward Lewis and Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward in 1990's 'Pretty Woman'Credit: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock -
Pretty Woman premiered on March 23, 1990
Directed by Garry Marshall, the romantic comedy stars Julia Roberts and Richard Gere
The film originally had a different title and a much darker plot
You can do anything you want, but we think it'd be a big mistake — huge! — to not rewatch Pretty Woman.
Directed by the late Garry Marshall, the now-iconic romantic comedy hit theaters on March 23, 1990. Not your typical big screen meet-cute, Pretty Woman centers around wealthy corporate raider Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) hiring plucky young sex worker Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) to be his escort for a week to keep him company.
The two agree to a $3,000 payment — plus an upscale wardrobe — and no kissing on the lips. Edward takes Vivian to the opera and the racetrack, and she loosens him up and helps him to get his mind off work for a while. This being a rom-com, the unlikely couple ends up saving each other — a storyline Roberts told The Guardian in March 2019 wouldn't hold up if released today.
"I don't really think you could make that movie now, right?" Roberts asked, adding, "So many things you could poke a hole in, but I don't think it takes away from people being able to enjoy it."
While serious themes of classism and sexism punctuate the plot, the chemistry between Gere and Roberts was clear. While celebrating the movie's 25th anniversary, Gere told former Today co-anchor Matt Lauer in 2015 that he was "mesmerized" by Roberts during their initial meeting. That chemistry, combined with a stacked soundtrack, completely quotable dialogue and unforgettable fashion, has made the film a beloved mainstay for decades.
Keep reading for some fun facts that will impress any Pretty Woman fan on your next nostalgic movie night.
01 of 09
Pretty Woman wasn't the film's original title
Richard Gere as Edward Lewis and Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward on the movie poster for 1990's 'Pretty Woman'Credit: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock
J.F. Lawton's screenplay for the film was initially called 3,000 — the price for a week with Vivian. That was still the title when Disney first presented the script to the Garry, but the name was considered "too science fiction-y," per The Hollywood Reporter.
Based on Roy Orbison's song, "Oh, Pretty Woman," the movie was renamed Pretty Woman. The 1964 hit single plays in the background while Vivian is shopping and appears on the original motion picture soundtrack.
02 of 09
The plot started off a lot darker, too
Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward in 1990's 'Pretty Woman'Credit: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock
In addition to the title change, Garry was expected to lighten up the script. Though the film was always going to be about a sex worker, the original story had a more down-on-her-luck leading lady who didn't get her happily-ever-after after her encounter with a businessman.
Lawton told Vanity Fair in March 2015 that he was inspired by the 1987 crime thriller Wall Street.
"I had heard about it and the whole issue about the financiers who were destroying companies," Lawton said. "I kind of thought about the idea that one of these people would meet somebody who was affected by what they were doing."
For Variety's 2019 "Actors on Actors" video series, Roberts shared the original ending for Vivian in 3,000 during her one-on-one discussion with fellow actress Patricia Arquette.
"[They] threw her out of the car, threw the money on top of her, as memory serves, and just sort of drove away, leaving her in some dirty alley," Roberts said.
Though she didn't state if Edward was the one who physically gave Vivian the boot in the original conclusion to the story, it's a far cry from the end fire escape scene in Pretty Woman where "she rescues him right back."
Before working on the movie, Roberts met up with a pair of women who frequented a free clinic where Garry's wife, former nurse Barbara Marshall, was volunteering.
In March 2019, Barbara told Page Six she appreciated Vivian's selection of condoms she offers up for use with Edward and how she calls herself "a safety girl," adding, "I was so proud because I realized that Garry was paying attention to my work and respecting the importance of preventing sexually transmitted diseases."
03 of 09
Richard Gere and Julia Roberts were a producer's first choice for the lead roles
From left: Burt Reynolds in a promotional still from 1989; Richard Gere as Edward Lewis in 1990's 'Pretty Woman'Credit: Bonnie Schiffman/Getty; Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock
On the "Pretty Woman" episode of Netflix's docuseries The Movies That Made Us, producer Gary Goldstein said that despite Roberts not being a household name at that time, he immediately wanted to cast her as Vivian based on her performance in 1988's Mystic Pizza.
Goldstein's top pick for Edward was always Gere, who had starred as a romantic lead in 1980's American Gigolo and 1982's An Officer and a Gentleman.
Roberts said "yes," but Gere initially passed on the movie because of the way Edward was characterized. Then, once the film landed under the Disney umbrella, the company wanted a big star for their female lead.
With the initial darker script, it shouldn't be a surprise that what eventually became a beloved rom-com was almost a Scarface reunion — at least on paper. Michelle Pfeiffer was among the many names being considered for Vivian, and Al Pacino was offered the role of Edward, even reading with Roberts, who had been brought back on board when her star power was rising.
Pacino passed on the movie, as did the late Burt Reynolds. When asked by Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in March 2018 why he turned down the role, Reynolds said, "Because I'm an idiot."
The studio change led to script rewrites to make Edward less toxic, prompting Gere to reconsider and meet with Garry and Roberts. During an appearance on The Tonight Show in November 2024, Gere shared that a Post-it note Roberts gave him during that meeting sealed the deal.
"So I'm talking to Gary, and [Roberts is] on the other side of the desk, and she's writing something on one of my Post-its," Gere said. "Then she turns around and puts it down, and I read it, and it says, 'Please say yes.' So I said, 'Gary, I think I just said yes.' "
Pretty Woman finally had its leads — ironically, the two people Goldstein wanted from the start. The casting paid off — Roberts earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of Vivian.
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04 of 09
Julia Roberts had one condition before filming
Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward in 1990's 'Pretty Woman'Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
According to the New York Post, when Roberts initially met with Garry about playing Vivian, the first thing she said was, "I won't be naked."
Per the BBC, she had a body double for the film's more revealing scenes. The actress was 20 years old when filming began for Pretty Woman, and she turned 21 on set.
In May 2016, Garry shared a memory from Roberts' birthday while at the Los Angeles premiere of Mother's Day, the fourth big-screen collaboration between the two.
"(Julia) remembered shooting Pretty Woman nearby; it was right down the street from the Grauman's Theatre," he told USA Today. "It was in an alley near there where we celebrated Julia's 21st birthday party with a cupcake and a little sip of champagne. And then I said, 'Let's go back to work!' "
05 of 09
That necklace scene was unscripted
Richard Gere as Edward Lewis and Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward in 1990's 'Pretty Woman'Credit: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock
One of the movie's most memorable scenes involves Edward presenting a necklace to Vivian. He snaps the case shut as she goes to touch the luxurious item, startling Vivian for half a second before she bursts into laughter.
The moment wasn't in the script — though it was orchestrated by Garry to keep his leading lady on her toes — and Roberts' full laugh was genuine, providing an authentically light moment for Edward and Vivian before they head out for a night together at the opera.
For DGA Quarterly's summer 2008 issue, Garry wrote that he liked to play pranks on all his sets, and the necklace box scene wasn't his only silly moment during Pretty Woman.
"Kidding around works best for me," he wrote. "For instance, during Julia's bubble bath scene in Pretty Woman, when she went under the soapy water for a few moments, Richard Gere, myself and the entire crew disappeared and were gone when she came up. It was just her in a tub on a ghost ship. And I also started a rumor during that scene that I had put goldfish in the bathtub, and everybody, including Julia, was looking for the fish."
06 of 09
The opera scene is (fictional) life imitating art
Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward and Richard Gere as Edward Lewis in 1990's 'Pretty Woman'Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
In one scene, Edward takes Vivian to see La traviata, Giuseppe Verdi's Italian opera about a courtesan (Violetta) and the businessman she falls in love with (Alfredo). According to the English National Opera, La traviata was used as inspiration for Pretty Woman, and in the film, the opera brings Vivian to tears.
Pretty Woman's fairy tale ending is far happier than La traviata's tragic final act. The parallel to that depressing outcome is closer to Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge, which the opera also inspired.
07 of 09
There's a Garry Marshall cinematic universe
From left: Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward in 1990's 'Pretty Woman'; Allan Kent as a waiter in 1990's 'Pretty Woman'Credit: Touchstone Pictures
In Pretty Woman, a waiter (Allan Kent) catches a flying escargot that Vivian accidentally flings across the room during a fancy dinner with Edward and other businessmen.
"Slippery little suckers," Vivian says, to which the waiter jokes, "It happens all the time." (Crisis averted!)
Garry was known for casting the same actors in many of his films — Roberts alone starred in four of his movies, including Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride (1999), Valentine's Day (2010) and Mother's Day (2016). However, what's special about Kent's repeated appearances is that he's performed that act of kindness and said the same line across multiple films.
In addition to letting Vivian know that her escargot faux pas was okay in Pretty Woman, Kent also played a waiter in 2001's The Princess Diaries, reassuring Anne Hathaway's Mia Thermopolis that "It happens all the time" when she breaks her goblet while tapping it to get people's attention.
Kent, as a footman in the 2004 sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, helps Hathaway's Mia out again, catching a bracelet that flies off her wrist while she's waving. Once again, he delivers his signature line.
08 of 09
Garry Marshall cast his son in the movie
Garry Marshall arrives at the Norby Walters 25th annual Night of 100 Stars Oscar viewing gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 22, 2015Credit: Jennifer Lourie/Getty
Garry reportedly wrote in his 2012 memoir My Happy Days in Hollywood about including his family in his projects, though not necessarily rewarding them with the juiciest roles, per SFGate. For example, his dad oversaw payroll for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. However, his sister, the late actress and director Penny Marshall, starred on his show Laverne & Shirley.
In Pretty Woman, Garry's son Scott played a drug-dealing skateboarder, while his niece, Tracy Reiner, was credited as a "woman at car."
Family friends fared a bit better. Longtime collaborator and friend Héctor Elizondo appeared in all of Garry's feature films. In Pretty Woman, Elizondo played hotel manager Barnard "Barney" Thompson, earning a 1991 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture.
09 of 09
Pretty Woman was a big moment for ... Hank Azaria!
Hank Azaria attends the Turnaround for Children's fifth annual Impact Awards Dinner at Cipriani in New York City on April 30, 2014Credit: Michael N. Todaro/WireImage
During a career retrospective for the A.V. Club in September 2011, actor Hank Azaria shared that the first movie he had any lines in was Pretty Woman.
In the film, the beloved Simpsons voice actor played a detective investigating the death of a sex worker whose body was found in a dumpster.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
