THE JULIA IN OSCAR'S CROWN THE ACADEMY AWARD IS HERS TO LOSE, ALMOST EVERYONE AGREES, BUT WINNING MIGHT NOT BE THE GREATEST BOOST FOR HER CAREER.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

The Academy Awards are meant to go to the best, but every once in a while some are bestowed to satisfy Hollywood's collective sense of duty.

There are the body-of-work tributes (John Wayne, ``True Grit,'' 1969). There's the she'll-never-get-a-better-chance (Marlee Matlin, ``Children of a Lesser God,'' 1986).

There's the who-knew-he-could-do-all-that (producer-director Mel Gibson, ``Braveheart,'' 1995). There's the he's-gonna-die-soon (Henry Fonda, ``On Golden Pond,'' 1981), and the he's-already-gone (Peter Finch, ``Network,'' 1976). They are the movie industry's versions of honorary doctorates from prestigious universities or knighthoods for those who are not British subjects.

And now comes Julia Roberts, apparently destined to take the best actress award for ``Erin Brockovich.'' Her path has been prepared with fabulous box office, critical prizes led by the L.A. Film Critics, a People's Choice award, and Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild trophies. It's not hard to visualize a jewel-encrusted crown being placed on her head as she clutches the Oscar statuette like a scepter.

Just because she's the first actress to command $20 million a picture doesn't mean she doesn't deserve a little more gold, right?

Roberts, 33, isn't a newcomer to the nomination process, of course. She was up for best supporting actress for ``Steel Magnolias'' in 1989. That was before she was a Star, though, and she watched the award go to Brenda Fricker for ``My Left Foot.''

In 1990, she broke into the best actress category for her first box-office smash, ``Pretty Woman.'' The buzz that year seemed to be, ``That's nice, but of course she won't win.'' She didn't. It went to Kathy Bates for ``Misery.''

Since then there have been thrillers (``The Pelican Brief'' and ``Sleeping With the Enemy''), low-brow dramas (``Dying Young,'' ``Mary Reilly'' and ``Stepmom''), small parts in big casts (``Hook,'' ``The Player,'' ``Ready to Wear'' and ``Everyone Says I Love You'') and all those romantic comedies (``Something to Talk About,'' ``My Best Friend's Wedding,'' ``Notting Hill'' and ``Runaway Bride.'') She grew a widespread and loyal fan base over the years, but for the most part her scripts lacked what Oscar voters crave: good character development and credibility.

This time it's different. There has been speculation since last summer that this role would be the one that would make award voters take notice - this ambitious single mom/sexpot with a longshoreman's way with words who brings a major utility to its knees over its poisoning of a local water supply.

Certainly a good chunk of the credit for her performance should be distributed among her fellow Oscar nominees - director Steven Soderbergh and writer Suzannah Grant - as well as the real Erin, who created for herself a persona and a situation that would have been rejected by a studio reader as too incredible had it been submitted as a work of fiction. Count on each of them to be thanked if - OK, when - Roberts gives her latest acceptance speech tonight.

The others in her category - Joan Allen of ``The Contender,'' Juliette Binoche of ``Chocolat,'' Ellen Burstyn of ``Requiem for a Dream'' and Laura Linney of ``You Can Count on Me'' - all are gifted performers, but they most likely will be ladies in waiting. Word in the haute couture world is that Julia's the one all the designers have clamored to dress this year, not just because of her figure and her million-watt smile, but because she will far and away be the most photographed, most closely scrutinized celebrity at the ceremony.

As recently as the nominees' luncheon two weeks ago, Burstyn was not yet sounding notes of concession, but Binoche graciously congratulated Roberts for winning - on the day nominations were announced.

``I think that that night, Julia's going to have it,'' Binoche said in a Feb. 13 phone interview from Europe. ``She's a wonderful actress, and it was a wonderful picture, so I would expect her to have it. I will be happy to be there and celebrate, but I don't expect anything.''

With everyone around her so confident, why does Roberts seem to doubt her own worth?

At the Screen Actors Guild Awards on March 11, her mood at the backstage press conference swung from bubbly to brusque, and her acceptance speech laid out her personal shortcomings as if she were ``sharing'' at a weekly gathering of Actors Anonymous.

``Now I really feel so much better about my level of talent than I did this afternoon. And I appreciate that so much, because I'm not always sure,'' she said. ``You guys know, I'm a fraud to stand here alone because, God, there's so many people that make me look like I know what I'm doing. ... They're lovely and they're sweet and they work so hard, and they make what I do look like it's easy. And we all know that it's kind of torture. But, you know, they pay us so much.''

Hi, my name is Julia, and I'm an actress.

Hi, Julia.

It could be that she doesn't want to be seen as taking these accolades too lightly.

``To get used to that would be to, like, lose a pulse, lose the breath of life,'' she told reporters at the SAG Awards. ``One mustn't get used to things like this.''

It could be that she dreads what some before her have called the Oscar curse for its seemingly negative impact on their careers. Kevin Costner scored best picture and best director in 1990 for ``Dances With Wolves,'' but none of his films since then has matched it for both award recognition and box-office popularity. Come to think of it, it's been a while since he's been seen on the Academy Awards red carpet.

Or it could be that Roberts, for all the praise and profits ``Erin'' has brought her, still suffers the basic insecurity shared by many in her field.

As she told a Redbook magazine interviewer: ``Being known as a woman who is a great actress - that would make me feel happy.''

OSCAR TRIVIA

First best picture winner: ``Wings'' (1927-28).

First best actor winner: Emil Jannings, ``The Last Command'' and ``The Way of All Flesh'' (1927-28).

First best actress winner: Janet Gaynor, ``Seventh Heaven,'' ``Sunrise'' and ``Street Angel'' (1927-28).

First black actor to win an Oscar: Hattie McDaniel, best supporting actress for ``Gone With the Wind'' (1939).

First Movie in Color to win Best Picture: ``Gone with the Wind''

Most Oscar Wins by a single film: at tie between ``Titanic'' (1997), with 11 wins out of 14 nominations, and ``Ben-Hur'' (1959), with 11 wins out of 12 nominations.

Most Oscar wins by a single actor: Katharine Hepburn, four (out of 12 nominations)

Actors who won each time they were nominated: Sally Field, Helen Hayes, Vivien Leigh, Luise Rainer and Kevin Spacey. All were two for two.

Two actors have turned down their Oscars: George C. Scott, best actor winner of 1970 for ``Patton,'' and Marlon Brando, best actor winner of 1972 for ``The Godfather.''

First year the sealed-envelope system was used to announce winners: 1941.

First telecast of the awards: 1953.

First color telecast: 1966.

Most frequent Oscar host: Bob Hope, who performed the task solo seven times and co-hosted 10 times.

CAPTION(S):

7 photos, 2 drawings, 2 boxes

Drawing: (1 -- cover color) Golden Girl

With fabulous box office and a sweep of critical prizes, it's all looking good for Julia Roberts. Then why is she so nervous?

John Gerung/Staff Artist

(2 -- color) no caption (Julia Roberts)

Photo illustration by Reuben J. Stern/Staff Artist

Photo: (1 -- color) Julia Roberts is in the running for the best-actress Oscar for ``Erin Brockovich,'' above.

(2 -- 3 -- color) The actress showed off her acting chops in the tense drama ``Sleeping With the Enemy,'' above, but was nominated for the comedy ``Pretty Woman,'' in which she starred with Richard Gere, left.

(4 -- color) ``Gone with the Wind''

(5 -- color) Katharine Hepburn

(6 -- color) George C. Scott

(7 -- color) Bob Hope

Box: (1) Oscar Trivia (see text)

(2) Box-office smash