A-List Actresses were Considered for Vivian
As we can see, Julia faced an uphill battle trying to land the part of Vivian in the original movie ‘$3,000.’ When the project wound up at Disney, the script was reworked, and they offered the lead role to Meg Ryan. Meg was a rising star at that time, but she turned the role down.

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But other famous actresses also considered the role, like Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder, who auditioned for the part of Vivian. Garry Marshall turned them down because he felt that they were too young. Ryder was only 18 while Connelly was 19. When Julia Roberts got the part (again), she was 21.