Los Angeles, Dec 18 (IANS): Actress Julia Roberts, 51, revealed that the first time she realised she was famous was when she was in a bathroom stall at age 21 and a fan asked her for an autograph.

The actress had just starred in the 1988 film "Mystic Pizza" at the time of her bathroom encounter.

The Oscar-winner told the story during an appearance on an episode of a podcast, reports dailymail.co.uk.

She had her fame awakening after returning home to Georgia to visit her mother and younger sister. The three caught a movie and Roberts stopped by the bathroom afterward.

"It was after the movie was over and I was in the bathroom and there was a woman in the bathroom who said, 'Hey, girl in stall number one, were you in 'Mystic Pizza'?" she said.

The pushy fan proceeded to slip something under the stall and asked the "Mystic Pizza" star to sign it.

"'Uh, not right now'," Roberts said. "And I thought, wait, this is different."