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Julia Roberts Isn’t the Only Famous Sibling in Her Family! Meet Eric, Lisa and Late Sister Nancy
When it comes to her loving family, Julia Roberts wears many hats. Not only is she a doting mom to her three kids, Hazel, Henry and Phinnaeus, and a beloved wife to her husband, Danny Moder, but the Pretty Woman star is a great sibling to her older brother, Eric Roberts, and her older sister, Lisa Roberts Gillan.
Julia is also the sister of her late half-sibling, Nancy Motes, who died at age 37 in 2014 of an apparent drug overdose. The Notting Hill actress spoke about Nancy’s death two months later in April, calling the situation “just heartbreak” during an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
“You don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone, but there are so many tragic, painful, inexplicable things in the world,” she emotionally shared. “But [as with] any situation of challenge and despair, we must find a way, as a family.”
Eric Roberts
The first child of the family, Julia’s older brother was born on April 18, 1956, to their parents, mom Betty Lou Bredemus and dad Walter Grady Roberts. The former couple raised Eric, Lisa and Julia together before ending their marriage after 17 years in 1972.
Despite his decades-long struggle with drug abuse, Eric paved quite the respected career as an actor. Per IMDb, he’s earned more than 630 acting credits to date, with his most famous roles in Best of the Best, The Dark Knight, Stalked By My Doctor, The Specialist, The Expendables and countless more.
With endless talent like Eric’s, it’s no surprise his only daughter, Emma Roberts, is following in his footsteps. The actor’s child — whom he shares with ex Kelly Cunningham — has become an A-lister herself, earning gigs in Scream Queens, American Horror Story and We’re the Millers.
Eric never wed his child’s mother, but he did say “I do” to his wife, Eliza Roberts. The lovebirds have been married since 1992.
In terms of his relationship with Julia, Robert said he’s “so proud” to be her sibling. “I can’t see straight,” Eric exclusively told Closer in 2019. “I’m also very proud of the fact that I gave the world the person that grew up to play Pretty Woman. Even I watch the movie once a year, just to feel good. It’s such fun.”
Eric become a grandpa when Emma welcomed her first child, Rhodes Robert Hedlund, with actor Garrett Hedlund in December 2020. In addition to seeing his daughter become a mom for the first time, Eric has enjoyed watching her relationship blossom with her aunt Julia over the years. “They look so much alike that I love the pictures of them when they’re side-by-side,” the Suits actor told Us Weekly in May 2020. “It’s really cool to look at them. I love seeing them together.”
In July 2024, Eric made a shocking confession when asked about Julia during an episode of the “Still Here Hollywood” podcast.
“I love my sister, but I can’t talk about her,” he told Steve Kmetko during the episode. “She don’t want to talk about it.”
Eric explained that Emma was the one who cautioned him “not to talk about her, but I stumbled and do. I’m not supposed to talk about either of them. But I do.”
He went on to gush over Emma’s acting roles in recent years.
“I’m in love with my daughter’s work these days,” he said. “I can’t believe how great she’s become. … I’m so proud of her I can’t see straight.”
Lisa Roberts Gillan
Julia’s older sister was born on January 1, 1965 — less than three years before the film star arrived on October 28, 1967. As she grew up, Lisa paved a Hollywood career like her famous sister.
Per IMDb, she made her acting debut in 1988’s To Heal a Nation, and later earned credits in I Love Trouble, Friends, The Call Back, Runaway Bride, Sex and the City and more. She also worked as an executive producer on Julia’s hit show Homecoming, as well as Extraordinary Moms, Jesus Henry Christ and others.
As far as her personal life goes, Lisa has been married to her husband, Tony Gillan, since 1997.
Nancy Motes
Julia’s half-sister, Nancy, was born on May 19, 1976, during Betty Lou’s relationship with Michael Motes. Unlike her older siblings, Nancy stayed out of the spotlight for the majority of her life until it came to a tragic end in February 2014.
When Nancy died, her family released a statement, saying, “It is with deep sadness that the family of Nancy Motes … confirms that she was found dead in Los Angeles yesterday of an apparent drug overdose. There is no official report from the Coroner’s office yet. The family is both shocked and devastated.”
At the time of her death, Daily Mail reported she was engaged to her fiancé, John Dilbeck.
Nancy’s death was extremely hard on everyone, including siblings Lisa and Eric. “It’s only been 20 days. There aren’t words to explain what any of us have been through in these last 20 days,” Julia said at the time. “It’s so hard to formulate a sentence about it outside the weepy huddle of my family.”
Following Nancy’s sudden death, Eric candidly opened up about how he also struggled with drug abuse throughout his life. As he divulged in a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair, the Best of the Best actor was addicted to marijuana for “about 10 years” before getting clean.
“I would go to meetings with people that mattered, like Oliver Stone and Sean Penn … and I would go stoned. Woody Allen. I met him very stoned, and he dismissed me, as well he should have,” Eric recalled, noting he also dabbled with much harder drugs.
“You’d arrive [on the set], and they’d send you to the prop truck, where there’d be bowls of cocaine,” Eric shared. “I was doing it to the point where my wife said, ‘It’s me or the coke.'”
Fortunately, Eric got the help he needs and is doing better than ever today. “I was asking for help, saying, ‘You see where I’m at — now help me, because I’m worth helping,’” he said. “I get it now. I just didn’t get it when I should have.”
