LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Laura Ziskin, the Hollywood producer who helped turn Pretty Woman heroine Julia Roberts into a star and brought Spider-Man to the big screen, died on Sunday after a public battle with breast cancer. She was 61. According to a statement from Sony Pictures, where her production company was based, Ziskin died at her Los Angeles home after fighting the disease for seven years. In 2008 Ziskin, along with other entertainment notables including newswoman Katie Couric, co-founded Stand Up To Cancer, an advocacy group for cancer research. Later that year and again last September Ziskin produced all-star telethons that aired live on the major U.S. networks. In addition to making movies, Ziskin also produced the Academy Awards broadcast twice, and served as president of Fox 2000 Pictures, a feature film division of 20th Century Fox. She was perhaps best known for producing the three Spider-Man movies starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. The trilogy grossed $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office. The franchise is currently being overhauled with a new cast and a focus on the superheros early years. Among the films Ziskin championed at Fox 2000 was the searingly brutal drama Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Following an advance screening that left other studio executives bewildered and angry, Ziskin boldly proclaimed it was brilliant, according to author Sharon Waxmans Rebels on the Backlot.