All About Julia Roberts' Brother Eric Roberts

Mar. 15, 2025

Arnold Jerocki/WireImage ; Phillip Faraone/Getty

Like his sister,Julia Roberts,Eric Robertsis one of the most prolific actors in Hollywood.

The Mississippi-born actor first rose to fame in the late 1970s and early 1980s, clinching three Golden Globe nominations in quick succession. Shortly after he began acting, his sister Julia also started working in the industry.

As Eric and Julia’s careers grew, the Hollywood siblings even shared the screen and now maintain relationships with each other’s kids. In July 2024, Eric opened up about his relationship with Julia on theStill Here Hollywoodpodcast, noting that they don’t often talk about each other.

“I love my sister, but I can’t talk about her,” Eric said, adding that his daughterEmma Robertshad also “told me not to talk about her, but I stumbled and do.” He concluded, “I’m not supposed to talk about either of them. But I do.”

In his 2024 memoir,Runaway Train Or, the Story of My Life So Far, Eric issued a public apology to his sister as he looked back on a time when he was addicted to cocaine and said multiple times that if not for him, “there would be no Julia Roberts.”

“I hope Julia will accept this public apology. It was an asinine thing to have said," he wrote.

From his early rise to stardom to his relationship with his famous sister, here’s everything to know about Julia Roberts' brother, Eric Roberts.

He grew up in Georgia

Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts attend the “Goose and Tomtom” Play Performance on August 28, 1986 in New York City.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Eric was born to Betty and Walter on April 18, 1956, in Biloxi, Miss. He was the first child for the couple, who later moved to Smyrna, Ga., where they welcomed daughters Lisa and Julia in 1965 and 1967, respectively.

His parents ran a children’s theater company together but eventually split in 1971 when he was 15 years old. Eric described his parent’s relationship toVanity Fairin 2018: “They were married for 16 years; it was very emotional, very loud. It was very much an ‘I love you, f— you’ marriage.”

At age 17, he studied briefly at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), before later relocating to New York City to pursue a career in acting.

Eric rose to fame in the ‘70s and ‘80s

Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts attend the “Runaway Train” Premiere Party on December 4, 1985 in New York City.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Eric’s debut role was in the 1974 soap operaHow to Survive a Marriage, but his true breakout role came a few years later with his starring turn in 1978’sKing of the Gypsies. His performance earned him his first Golden Globe nomination.

He and Julia have only worked on one movie together: a 1989 Western calledBlood Red.

He’s a prolific actor

Eric Roberts and Julia Roberts.Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Eric has a jam-packed résumé, with almost 800 credits to his name.

“We get anywhere from eight to 30 offers every single day from all over the world,” Eric toldThe Hollywood Reporterin 2022. “It’s just so much fun to have all these offers and get to play such an extreme range of characters.”

Speaking toVanity Fairabout the volume of work he takes on each year, Eric explained, “I start making a bunch of B movies — bam bam bam bam bam bam — one after the other, and then suddenly two, three years have passed, and I made like 30 films in two, three years."

For his part, Eric is just happy to be in front of the camera. “I started having fun at the craft. I’m a f—— groupie for it! I can do it every day, all day,” he said.

Eric has starred in several music videos

Eric Roberts arrives at the ABC’s Winter Press Tour Party on January 23, 2004 in Universal City, California.Vince Bucci/Getty

Vince Bucci/Getty

Eric has also starred in a handful of music videos opposite everyone fromRihannatoThe Killers.

In 2004, the actor was approached to star in his first music video and instinctively went to turn it down. “My wife [Eliza] says, ‘Of course you’re doing it. They’re called the Killers — they’re huge. And you’re doing the video, no questions asked.’ And it’s a huge hit,” he toldVanity Fair.The video turned out to be the mega-famous “Mr. Brightside.”

“I do Akon next. Another huge hit. I doMariah Carey. It goes to No. 1. So I was like a lucky charm for a while. I got a whole new audience,” he told the outlet. The videos included “Smack That” and “We Belong Together.” Later on, he played a police officer in Rihanna’s music video for “Bitch Better Have My Money.”

He’s been married for over 30 years

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Getty

Eric met his wife, actress and casting director Eliza Roberts, on a Los Angeles-bound airplane in 1986. The two were seated beside each other, and discovered they had “all these strange connections,” Eliza recounted toVanity Fair.

Eric recalled their first meeting toHoward Sterneight years later, explaining that he’d been in another relationship when they first met. He was dating Kelly Cunningham, with whom he welcomed daughter Emma Roberts in 1991 before splitting that same year.

“I’m reading a script, she’s reading a script, I tell her who my favorite writer is, the names' David Rayfiel … he just happens to be her father,” he told Stern. The pair maintained a friendship for years until Eric’s relationship with Cunningham ended.

“We didn’t start kissing until 1991 and we got married in ‘92,” he said.

Eric’s daughter is Emma Roberts

Eric Roberts, Eliza Roberts, and Emma Roberts.Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Prior to his relationship with his wife Eliza, Eric dated Cunningham from 1988 until 1991. The pair welcomed their first and only child together, daughter Emma, on Feb. 10, 1991.

In his memoir, Eric wrote that losing custody of Emma was the “biggest consequence of my drug use.”

“I imagine I will remain as Julia’s brother and Emma Roberts’ dad for the rest of my life,” he wrote. “I’d like to make good on that, to move aside proudly and with grace. That’s part of the reason for writing the book.”

Emma has followed in her father’s (and aunt’s) footsteps, pursuing a career in acting from a young age. When asked about their shared profession, Eric gushed about his daughter toTheHollywood Reporterin 2022, saying it’s “so much fun” to watch her act and succeed.

“And she’s never had any training, so she’s been on-the-job training her whole career, and it’s been lovely for me to watch her become an actor, and she has. I love her work,” said the proud dad.

He citedWe’re the MillersandAmerican Horror Storyas two of his favorite things she’s worked on. “I love [AHS], I love that series, of course I do,” he said during an episode of theBehind the Velvet Ropepodcast in 2022.

Despite their success, the two rarely talk shop. “We have never discussed it since she was 9 years old,” he toldTheHollywood Reporter. “We have a whole other relationship. I don’t want to be too sappy but I’m head over heels in love with the whole thing.”

Eric is now “a two-time grandfather,” since Emmawelcomed son Rhodesin 2020 and his step-daughter Morgan also had a child.

source: people.com