Julia Roberts is shocked to learn she’s not actually a ‘Roberts’
‘My mind is blown!’ Julia Roberts is shocked to learn that she isn’t actually a ‘Roberts’ after DNA files reveal a secret family scandal
- Julia discovers the identity of her great-grandfather after a family scandal
- Through DNA, it is found that the actress’s great-great-grandmother, Rhoda Suttle Roberts, had an affair with a married man after the death of her husband Willis.
- Julia is shocked to discover that she is not a Roberts, but rather should be a Mitchell, after her family tree is traced back to Henry MacDonald Mitchell Jr.
- Henry’s mother lived just four houses from Rhoda in Georgia and had a secret affair in the late 1870s while married to a woman named Sarah.
Julia Roberts is shocked to discover she’s not a ‘Roberts’ after a dig through her family archives reveals a secret scandal.
The 55-year-old actress starred in Ancestory’s Finding Your Roots to discover more about her family tree through DNA archiving and genealogy work with the help of Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.
And Julia couldn’t believe it when she was told her last name is completely different, due to her great-great-grandmother Rhoda Suttle Roberts having an affair with a married man after the death of her husband Willis Roberts.
Shocked: Julia Roberts was shocked to discover she’s not a ‘Roberts’ after a dig into her family archives revealed a secret scandal
Dr Henry told the actress: “In digging through the Georgia County archives, we discovered that sometime in the 1850s, Rhoda married a man named Willis Roberts.
‘Julia carries the last name of Willis. But Willis passed away in 1864, more than a decade before Rhoda gave birth to Julia’s great-grandfather, John, which leads to one inescapable conclusion.
Looking at the files, Willis is not listed in the 1880 census, but his great-grandfather John Pendleton Roberts is.
History: The actress, 55, starred in Ancestory’s Finding Your Roots to discover more about her family tree through DNA archiving and genealogy work.
Shocked: Julia couldn’t believe it when she was told her last name is completely different, due to her great-great-grandmother Rhoda Suttle Roberts having an affair with a married man.
Dr. Henry gave Julia time to discover that Willis was missing, prompting him to tell her: ‘Willis Roberts couldn’t be your great-great-grandfather. He was dead.’
A surprised Julia responded, ‘But am I not a Roberts?’
The historian went on to explain how his team dug deep into Georgia’s archives but couldn’t find any details of Julia’s great-great-grandfather’s identity.
Archives: Dr. Henry explained how his team delved into Georgia’s archives, but was unable to find any details of Julia’s great-great-grandfather’s identity.
They then resorted to testing DNA after taking samples from the actress and a cousin to see if they could find a match on who her great-grandfather’s father was.
Dr. Henry explained: “We found a group of matches linking Julia and her cousin to one man”…Henry MacDonald Mitchell Jr.
After reading the name, Julia asked, ‘So we are Mitchells?’ and the teacher confirmed that she is ‘Julia Mitchell’.
The story takes another interesting turn when it is revealed in the census that Henry is married to a woman named Sarah and has six children.
Putting the puzzle together, Dr. Henry says that Rhoda lived only four houses from Henry’s mother.
Upon receiving the news, Julia said: ‘Truly, my mind is blown. It is fascinating. And then there’s a part of me that knows that when I’m calmer, you know that I can still wrap my arms around the idea that my family is my family.
She added with a laugh: ‘I prefer the name Roberts. This was a very unexpected turn.
‘My mind is blown’: After reading the name, Julia asked: ‘So we are Mitchells?’, and the teacher confirmed that she is ‘Julia Mitchell’