Known for her captivating on-screen performances and undeniable charm, Julia Roberts has been a dominant force in the film industry for decades. With her rise to stardom, not only has her career and work attracted significant attention, but so has her life behind the scenes. Like many Hollywood stars, her romantic relationships and complicated family dynamics have been a subject of public fascination.
The Roberts family has been rooted in the entertainment business, with her parents being one-time actors and playwrights. Her older brother, Eric Roberts, was the first in the family to make it big in Hollywood.
Although she followed in his footsteps and eventually surpassed him in fame, their relationship has been a source of intrigue, particularly after the Oscar-nominated actor revealed details about not only his but his sister’s life as well in his new memoir, Runaway Train: Or, The Story of My Life So Far.
It has allegedly caused a rift between the star siblings, as the actress is reportedly upset that her brother used her name to promote his story. However, this isn’t the first time the siblings have been at odds. The Roberts family has long been known for its complicated relationships, including tensions between the Blood Red stars. So, who are Julia Roberts’ siblings, and what is the nature of their relationships? Let’s take a closer look.
Julia Roberts’ Parents
Julia Roberts is the youngest child of Walter Roberts and Betty Lou Bredemus, who also had two more children Eric Roberts and Lisa Roberts Gillan. While residing in Atlanta, the couple opened an Actors and Writers workshop.
In an appearance on the History channel talk show, HISTORYTalks, the actress revealed her parents’ surprising connection with Martin Luther King Jr. She shared that King Jr. paid the hospital bills for her birth. Roberts also shared that he and his wife, Coretta Scott King, met her parents through their school, which the King children attended at the time.
After her parents separated in 1972, the Notting Hill star stayed mostly with her mother and her sister Lisa Roberts Gillan in Smyrna, Georgia, while their brother stayed with their father, who later passed away in 1977. The Expendables actor has since described their father as a violent and troubled man, calling him “a very screwed-up individual and not safe for me, or anyone, to have as a father,” as per People.
Soon after her split, Betty Lou Bredemus married Michael Motes, a man who was reportedly abusive. Together, they had a daughter, Nancy Motes, but their marriage ended in 1983 on grounds of cruelty. Bredemus later described her marriage to Motes as the worst mistake of her life. Betty Lou Bredemus passed away in 2015 from lung cancer at the age of 80.
Julia Roberts’ Siblings
Julia Roberts has three siblings, her older brother, Eric Roberts, her sister, Lisa Roberts Gillan, and her younger half-sister, Nancy Motes, whom their mother, Betty Lou Bredemus, had during her second marriage to Michael Motes.
The Dark Knight actor was the first of the siblings to move to New York to pursue an acting career. He was later followed by Lisa Roberts Gillan, and eventually, Julia Roberts herself.
While living in Smyrna, Georgia, her mother raised her three daughters on her own, as the Pretty Woman star once told People, “My mom worked a full-time job and raised three girls pretty much on her own.”
“My brother [actor Eric Roberts] is older, so he was gone and out of the house. She never showed the strain of it,” she further stated. Lisa Roberts Gillan also moved to New York with whom Roberts initially stayed when she decided to pursue her dreams.
Eric Roberts
Born in 1956, Eric Roberts is the oldest of three siblings and first gained recognition in the entertainment industry through his early roles in King of the Gypsies, Star 80, and The Pope of Greenwich Village. He also earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in the 1985 action thriller Runaway Train.
With more than 700 acting credits to his name, he has become a prolific figure in film and television, along with several appearances in music videos. Early in his career, his relationship with his sister Julia Roberts appeared to be positive, as she even played a small role in his 1987 film Blood Red.
However, tensions between the siblings grew, largely due to his struggles with drug addiction and the Erin Brockovich star siding with his ex during a custody dispute over his daughter, Emma Roberts. The Saltwater actor has opened up about his drug addictions in his memoir, stating that his drug use damaged his relationship with his sisters.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they suffered from PTSD from when it was dangerous to be around me,” he writes in his memoir. The siblings eventually reconciled in 2004, after Julia Roberts gave birth to her twins with her then-husband Danny Moder, as she shared in a 2018 Vanity Fair interview. However, despite the reconciliation, one of his comments during the same interview caused further complications in their relationship.
Eric Roberts’ Controversial Remarks and Apology
In his 2018 interview with Vanity Fair, Eric Roberts stirred controversy with remarks about his sister Julia Roberts’ success. “If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses,” he said, as he boasted about his achievements of being the “first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.”
The actor later shared in an appearance on the Still Here Hollywood podcast that he is not supposed to talk about his sister and daughter. “I love my sister, but I can’t talk about her,” he said before adding, “I’m not supposed to talk about either of them. But I do.”
While the Leave the World Behind actress has not publicly addressed these claims, Eric Roberts eventually apologized for his comments in his memoir. “I hope Julia will accept this public apology. It was an asinine thing to have said,” he said in his book.
However, along with his apology, the actor has shared so many more accounts of her childhood and other personal details in his memoir, which has reportedly upset the Flatliners star, with reports stating, “Eric actually knows very little about her, and that he used her life to help sell his book is unforgivable.” The sources also claimed that she has no intention of speaking to her brother anymore.
Julia Roberts Inspired Emma Roberts to Pursue Acting
Eric Roberts has one daughter, actress Emma Roberts, with his ex, Kim Cunningham. The former couple was together for three years before splitting up in 1991, shortly after Emma Roberts’ birth. Following their breakup, Roberts married Eliza Garrett in 1992, and the couple has been together for over 30 years. Through his marriage to Garrett, Roberts also has two stepchildren, Morgan and Keaton Simons.
With her strong family ties to the entertainment industry, Emma Roberts has often found herself in discussions of nepotism in the industry as well. However, she has credited her aunt, Julia Roberts, as an inspiration for pursuing her own acting career. Despite the comparisons, Emma Roberts has emphasized that she never aspired to follow the exact same path as her aunt.
“I love her so much, I love her work, but I’m just doing my own thing,” The Scream Queens actress has also shared while asserting that she doesn’t aim to reach her aunt’s level of fame, primarily because of the intense scrutiny that comes with such widespread success.
Lisa Roberts Gillan
Lisa Roberts Gillan, Julia Roberts’ elder sister, is both an actress and a producer. Like her siblings, she also moved to New York, enrolling in theater school soon after their brother Eric Roberts.
The Hook actress has fondly shared that when she first moved to New York, she asked her sister if she could stay with her. “She never blinked an eye or asked for the outline of time or ideas before saying yes,” she recalled as per People.
She further stated,
We shared apartments all over New York City for years and now we are grown and married and have separate apartments, but they are in the same building!
As per IMDb, she made her acting debut in the 1988 TV film To Heal a Nation. She has since appeared in projects like I Love Trouble, Friends, The Call Back, Runaway Bride, and Sex and the City.
In addition to acting, Gillan has produced several films, with her recent credits including Netflix’s Leave the World Behind and Fool Me Once. She has been married to her husband, Tony Gillan, since 1997.
Nancy Motes
Nancy Motes, the youngest and Julia Roberts’ half-sister, was born in 1976 from their mother Betty Lou Bredemus’ second marriage to Michael Motes. Unlike her famous siblings, Motes largely stayed out of the spotlight until her tragic passing in February 2014.
Fiancé of Julia Roberts's sister Nancy Motes says he still blames actress for her tragic suicide on 10th anniversary of her death https://t.co/n2gINhJaju pic.twitter.com/N0dbVNzhKq
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) February 9, 2024
As per The Hollywood Reporter, she was found dead at a Los Angeles home, and “some prescription drugs were found near her body.” Prior to her passing, Motes worked as a production assistant on the TV show Glee. At the time, she was engaged to her fiancé, John Dilbeck, and they were planning to marry in May 2014.
Her sudden death shocked the family. Julia Roberts reflected on the loss, saying, “It’s only been 20 days. There aren’t words to explain what any of us have been through in these last 20 days.”
“It’s so hard to formulate a sentence about it outside the weepy huddle of my family,” she further stated. Following her death, Daily Mail published an alleged suicide note in which she expressed resentment toward her sister.
Nancy Motes’ Relationship with Julia Roberts
While the circumstances of Nancy Motes’ passing suggested an apparent drug overdose, Daily Mail later released excerpts from what they described as a “bitter suicide note.” In the note, Motes expressed feelings of abandonment by her family.
“My mother and so-called ‘siblings’ get nothing except the memory that they are the ones that drove me into the deepest depression I’ve ever been in,” the letter stated.
Prior to her death, Motes had accused her sister, Julia Roberts, of body-shaming and discouraging her from pursuing an acting career. “When I was in high school, and she was an adult, she would just let me know that I was definitely overweight,” she said, as per New York Daily News.
Julia did not want to see me go down that path — Mostly because I was overweight. My weight has fluctuated my entire life. So I just got a lot of criticism from Julia, which was very discouraging for me.
Despite their conflicts, Motes moved to Los Angeles and worked as a production assistant on the TV show Glee. However, she later fell into a deep depression. Motes reportedly also underwent gastric bypass surgery to lose weight, hoping to mend her broken relationship with her sister. “My family, we love each other absolutely… I love Julia absolutely, and I have no doubt she loves me,” she had said.
Nancy Motes’ Fiancé Made Some Serious Accusations Against Juli Roberts
John Dilbeck, who was engaged to Nancy Motes at the time of her passing, has made several serious allegations against Julia Roberts. Previously reported by Daily Mail, Dilbeck and his family were involved in a “bitter legal battle with Pretty Woman star Roberts and her mother Betty for control of Nancy’s estate.”
The report also stated their claims of how the actress “tried to manipulate Nancy’s life and control everything.” Dilbeck reiterated his allegations later in 2020, as reported by The Sun.
Julia always felt that Nancy had her time with their mother, now it’s her turn, as if she was a toy or animal…There should be no Betty and Nancy.
He further claimed,
They never acknowledged her existence, just like when she was alive. Out of sight, out of mind, as long as the world never hears about it, then it doesn’t matter.
He further stated on the 10th anniversary of Nancy Motes’s death, “I still feel resentful, angry. The wound doesn’t go away; it doesn’t heal,” as per Daily Mail. He maintains his accusations and continues to hold Roberts responsible for Motes’ demise, declaring, “I can’t even forgive Julia for all that she’s done.” However, Roberts has not respond to these claims made by Dilbeck.
