Hair swept back, fur coat on and diamond earrings in... Julia Roberts shows how a Pretty Woman can change the course of US political history.
The actress plays outspoken socialite Martha Mitchell, a key figure in the Watergate scandal.
She was the first to link controversial President Richard Nixon to a burglary that led to his downfall.
Nixon himself effectively blamed her for his resignation, saying: “If there hadn’t been Martha, there would have been no Watergate.”
Martha, wife of Nixon’s attorney general John Mitchell, hailed from Arkansas and was dubbed the Mouth of the South for spilling the beans on political gossip.
She was a regular on TV talk shows. But Watergate was a murky affair and after speaking out she was kidnapped, ridiculed and dismissed as mad.
It all started in 1972 with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee HQ, in the Watergate complex, Washington.
Documents were stolen and wire taps fixed to phones.
Five burglars were held and linked to the Committee to Re-Elect the President – known as CREEP and run by John Mitchell.
Nixon’s camp denied involvement and Mitchell did his best to keep Martha quiet.
Without success.
Tonight, her role in the affair is the focus of new TV series Gaslit, on streaming service Starz.
Sean Penn plays Julia’s screen husband and former Downton Abbey favourite Dan Stevens also stars.
Julia, 54 – who rocketed to fame with Pretty Woman in 1990 – leapt at the chance to play Martha in her first big role for four years.
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