Last Updated: January 16, 2023, 09:33 IST
Julia Roberts makes this shocking discovery about her roots.
Julia Roberts makes a shocking discovery about her roots at a show. The actress comes to know that she isn’t a Roberts but a Mitchells.
Hollywood star Julia Roberts is one of the much-loved stars in the industry. The actress’ charismatic persona and her antics makes her fans fall for her every time she makes a public appearance. The Pretty Woman actress recently appeared on PBS’ Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr, where she learned about a centuries-old family scandal involving her great-great-grandmother.
During the episode, after analyzing Roberts’ family tree, Gates Jr. informed her that her great-grandfather was born a decade after her great-great-grandfather Willis Roberts had died. Her grandmother named Rhoda Suttle Roberts was married to Willis since the 1850s but, his death in 1864 left a startling gap.
Julia Roberts was shaken to the core after she made this discovery about her roots. Julia Roberts asked Gates Jr, “Oh wait – but am I not a Roberts?”
When Julia asked if she is actually Julia Mitchells and not Roberts, Gates Jr replied, “You are Julia Mitchells.” He confirmed it and said, “You are not a Roberts, biologically.”
Only this information wasn’t enough, as historian Gates Jr further revealed that Henry McDonald Mitchells Jr. was actually married, and had six children of his own when he had an affair with the actress’ great-great-grandmother Rhoda. What’s more, he also said that Henry’s mother – who was a widow- actually lived just four households away from Rhoda.
Her new-found ancestry came as quite the revelation for Julia. The Pretty Woman actress only reacted with a simple ‘Wow,’ until Gates Jr asked her how she felt about the matter. “On the one hand, I — truly — my mind is blown,” Roberts said on the show, via People. “And it is fascinating. And on the other hand, there’s part of me that, when I’m calmer, can still wrap my arms around the idea that my family is my family. And I do prefer the name Roberts!”
The historian also told Roberts that Henry McDonald Mitchell Jr.’s name disappeared from the paper trail during the late 1800s. However, Gates Jr informed, that his and Julia Roberts’ ancestry can be traced all the way back to 18th century colonial Virginia.
“This was a very unexpected turn,” the 55-year-old actress said.
Although Roberts is most famously known for her charming performance in Pretty Woman, her actual breakout role was in the 1988 movie Mystic Pizza, where she played Daisy.
