Popular Hollywood actress, Julia Roberts recently found out about a long-time marital issue concerning her great-great-grandfather on PBS’ Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. She was surprised when she learned about the huge secret – the “Eat, Pray, Love” star is not who she thought she is!
Julia Roberts Finds Out About Family Secret
Henry Louis Gates Jr. after his investigation, found out that Willis Roberts, the man Julia thought was her great-great-grandfather was dead more than 10 years before her great-grandfather was born. While Julia’s great-great-grandmother Rhoda Suttle Roberts had been Willis’ wife since the 1850s, his death in 1864 left a shocking gap.
The surprised star asked Gates Jr. as he explained his findings to her, “Oh, wait— but am I not a Roberts?” while he replied her that public databases only found “a cluster of matches” that linked her to a man named Henry McDonald Mitchell Jr. Julia further asked, “so we’re Mitchell’s” and Gates Jr. confirmed to her, “You’re Julia Mitchell. You are not a Roberts, biologically.” To everyone’s surprise, the historian claimed that Mitchell was married with six children when he had an affair with Rhoda. He also said that a research of census data discovered that Mitchell’s mother, a widow lived a few households away from Rhoda.
Julia Roberts was too stunned to speak at the discovery, she could only utter, “Wow” till he asked her how she felt about her lineage discovery. She answered, “On the one hand, I — truly — my mind is blown. 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 Ticket to Paradise star added, “This was a very unexpected turn,” while the historian in his final words confirmed that Mitchell Jr. does not have a record since the late 1800s.
His and Roberts’ newfound ancestors, however, can be traced to 18th-century colonial Virginia. Edward Norton appeared on the show’s premiere episode and the historian also revealed that 17th-century Powhatan woman Pocahontas is his 12th great-grandmother. Norton and Roberts couldn’t hold their laughter when the historian disclosed that they both share a similar enough DNA sequence to determine they share a common ancestor. Norton jokingly asked, “How come I didn’t get the teeth and the smile?”
