'ERIN BROCKOVICH' star Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt break up after four-year relationship

NEW YORK (AP) _ Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt are no longer America's sweethearts. <br><br>The Oscar-winning actress and her boyfriend have split up after dating for nearly four years. <br><br>``They

Thursday, June 28th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt are no longer America's sweethearts.

The Oscar-winning actress and her boyfriend have split up after dating for nearly four years.

``They have broken up,'' Marcy Engelman, Roberts' publicist, said Thursday. ``They're still great friends. It happened awhile ago.''

A representative for Bratt in Los Angeles did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Bratt, 37, who co-starred on the NBC legal drama ``Law and Order,'' was at Roberts' side when she won a best-actress Oscar in March for her performance in ``Erin Brockovich.'' He was the one who woke Roberts early on the morning of Oscar nominations with a phone call, telling her she was up for the award.

In 1999, Bratt told People magazine, ``All that I have to say about Julia couldn't possibly fit into one or two sentences. She is an incredible woman.''

Roberts, 33, co-stars in the film ``America's Sweethearts'' with Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cusack and Billy Crystal, which opens July 20.

Her love life has been tabloid fodder for years. She broke up with Kiefer Sutherland in 1991 on the eve of their wedding and was married for 21 months to singer Lyle Lovett. Before Bratt, she also was linked to Jason Patric, Dylan McDermott, Matthew Perry and Liam Neeson.