‘I’m speechless!’ Julia Roberts is stunned to learn she’s not actually ‘Roberts’ after DNA archives reveal secret family scandal
Julia Roberts was shocked to discover she’s not a ‘Roberts’ after a dig into her family archives revealed a secret scandal.
The 55-year-old actress starred in Ancestory’s Finding Your Roots to learn more about her family tree through DNA archives and genealogical work with the help of Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.
And Julia couldn’t believe it when she was told that her last name is actually quite different because her great-great-grandmother Rhoda Suttle Roberts had an affair with a married man after the death of her husband Willis Roberts.
Shocked: Julia Roberts was shocked to discover she is not ‘Roberts’ after a dig into her family archives revealed a secret scandal
dr Henry told the actress, “Browsing through the Georgia County archives, we discovered that sometime in the 1850s Rhoda married a man named Willis Roberts.
“Julia is Willis’s last name. But Willis died in 1864, over a decade before Rhoda gave birth to Julia’s great-grandfather John, leading to an inescapable conclusion.
Looking at the archives, Willis is not listed in the 1880 census, but her great-grandfather, John Pendleton Roberts, is.
History: The 55-year-old actress starred in Ancestory’s Finding Your Roots to learn more about her family tree through DNA archives and genealogy work
Stunned: Julia couldn’t believe it when she was told her last name is completely different because her great-great-grandmother Rhoda Suttle Roberts is having an affair with a married man
dr Giving Julia time to find out that Willis was missing, Henry got him to tell her, “Willis Roberts can’t possibly be your great-great-grandfather. He was dead.”
A shocked Julia replied: “But am I not Roberts?”
The historian went on to explain how his team dug deep into Georgia’s archives but could not find any details on the identity of Julia’s great-great-grandfather.
Archives: Dr. Henry explained how his team dug deep into Georgia archives but could not find any details on the identity of Julia’s great-great-grandfather
They then turned to searching for DNA after taking samples from the actress and a cousin to see if they could find a match to her great-grandfather’s father.
dr Henry stated, “We have found an assortment of matches tying Julia and her cousin to a man”…Henry MacDonald Mitchell Jr.
After reading the name, Julia asked, “So we’re Mitchells?” to which the professor confirmed that she was “Julia Mitchell.”
The story takes another interesting twist as the census reveals that Henry is married to a woman named Sarah and they have six children.
dr Henry puts the puzzle together and then says that Rhoda lived only four doors down from Henry’s mother.
Taking in the news, Julia said: “I’m really blown away. It is fascinating. And on the other hand, there’s a part of me that you know, you know that when I’m calmer, you know that you can still wrap me around the idea that my family is my family.
She added with a laugh: “I prefer the Roberts name. This was a very unexpected turn of events.’
“I’m blown away”: After reading the name, Julia asked, “So we’re Mitchells?” with the professor confirming that she is “Julia Mitchell.”