Julia Roberts
Roberts in 2011, Featureflash / Shutterstock.com
Birth Name: Julia Fiona Roberts
Place of Birth: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Date of Birth: October 28, 1967
Ethnicity: English, German, Swedish, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, remote French
Julia Roberts is an American actress and producer. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Erin Brockovich (2000). Perhaps the biggest female movie star of the 1990s, she has also starred in the films Mystic Pizza, Steel Magnolias, Pretty Woman, Flatliners (1990), Sleeping with the Enemy, Hook, The Pelican Brief, Everyone Says I Love You, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Stepmom, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride, The Mexican, America’s Sweethearts, Ocean’s Eleven, and its sequel Ocean’s Twelve; Mona Lisa Smile, Charlie Wilson’s War, Valentine’s Day (2010), Eat Pray Love, August: Osage County, Secret in Their Eyes (2015), Money Monster, Wonder (2017), Ben Is Back, and Ticket to Paradise, and on television’s The Normal Heart, Homecoming (2018), and Gaslit. She runs production company Red Om Films. She has been a global ambassador for Lancôme since 2009.
Julia is the daughter of Betty Lou and Walter Grady Roberts, who were actors and playwrights. She was raised in Smyrna, Georgia. She is the sister of actors Eric Roberts (Eric Anthony Roberts) and Lisa Roberts Gillan, and the aunt of actress Emma Roberts, who is Eric’s daughter. Julia is married to cinematographer Daniel Moder, with whom she has three children.
Julia’s father’s family has lived in the Southern United States for many generations; her ancestry includes English, German, Swedish, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and remote French.
A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2023) stated that Julia’s genetic ancestry consists of:
*32% England & North Western Europe
*32% Scotland
*26% Norway
*7% Sweden & Denmark
*2% Wales
*1% Ireland
Genetically, she was found to have a common ancestor with actor Edward Norton.
Julia’s paternal grandfather was Walter Thomas “Tom” Roberts (the son of John Pendleton Roberts and Jimmie Glen Corbitt). Walter was born in Georgia. John was the son of Henry McDonald Mitchell, Jr., whose mother likely was born in Ireland, and of Rhoda/Rodie Suttle/Suttles. John was born and raised under the name of his mother’s late husband, Willis R. Roberts, who had died over a decade before his birth. John’s biological father was married to another woman when he was born. Jimmie was the daughter of Thomas C. Corbitt and Josephine “Josie”/Jodie Gherkey/Garker.
Julia’s paternal grandmother was Beatrice M. Beal (the daughter of William Edward Beal and Pearl F. Dooley). Beatrice was born in Georgia. William was the son of John Frank Beal and Martha Ann Redd. Pearl was the daughter of Washington “Lewis” Dooley and Mahalia/Mahala Ann “Haley” Hitt.
Julia’s maternal grandfather was Wendell John Bredemus (the son of John Math/Mathias/Matheus/Mathews Bredemus and Elin Maria “Eleanor” Johansdotter/Johnson). Wendell was born in Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota. Julia’s great-grandfather John was the son of Mathias/Mathew Bredemus, who was German, and of Elizabeth Steffens/Stevens, who was of German descent. Elin was Swedish, born in Sundstorp, By, Värmland, Sweden, the daughter of Johan/John Jansson/Johnson and Emma Kristina/Christina Carlsdotter/Karlsdotter/Carlson.
Julia’s maternal grandmother was Elizabeth Ellen Billingsley (the daughter of James Henry Billingsley and Nellie Hutchings). Elizabeth was born in Indiana. James was the son of John James Warren Billingsley and Elizabeth P./A. Hymer/Hyner/Pickelhymer. Nellie was the daughter of Dolphin/Dalphin/Dalphon Hutchings and Ellen Greenlee/Matkin/Matkins.
Sources: Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak’s article about Julia’s ancestry, at The Huffington Post – http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Genealogies of Julia Roberts – http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com
http://www.geni.com
https://www.wikitree.com
Genealogies of Julia’s parents – https://www.findagrave.com
Genealogy of Julia’s paternal great-grandfather, John Pendleton Roberts – http://www.findagrave.com
Marriage record of Julia’s maternal great-grandparents, James Henry Billingsley and Nellie Hutchings – https://familysearch.org
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