Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Julia Roberts Floored After DNA Test Reveals She's Not Technically A 'Roberts': 'My Mind Is Blown'

Julia Roberts
Finding Your Roots/PBS

The Oscar winner found out about a generations-old affair on PBS' 'Finding Your Roots' docuseries.

Julia Roberts just found out she is not a Roberts at all and her "mind is blown."

The Oscar winner sat down with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on PBS' Finding Your Roots on Wednesday and got wayyyy more than she bargained for when she found out all kinds of family secrets.


Breaking down the star's family tree, Gates Jr. pointed out her great-great-grandfather Willis Roberts actually died before her great-grandfather was born...like more than a decade before.

Roberts then thought aloud:

"Oh, wait—but am I not a Roberts?!"

After scouring databases and coming up empty-handed, Gates Jr. revealed they relied on DNA to find an answer.

Using DNA from Roberts and a male cousin, Gates Jr. was able to narrow the results to one man: Henry McDonald Mitchell, Jr.

Roberts then asked:

"So we're Mitchell's?"

Gates Jr. answered:

"You're Julia Mitchell."
"You are not a Roberts, biologically."

You can watch the clip below.

Julia Roberts Isn’t ACTUALLY Julia “Roberts”?? | Finding Your Roots | Ancestry®youtu.be

Research revealed Mitchell himself was married when Roberts' great-grandfather was born. Coincidently, Mitchell's mother only lived a few houses away from Roberts' great-great-grandmother Rhoda.

Roberts' response?

"Wow."

Many viewers commented on how surprised Roberts' must have felt in that moment.

Ancestry/YouTube

Ancestry/YouTube

Ancestry/YouTube

Several had very similar stories—thanks to the availability of DNA collection, analysis and databases—and empathized with her.

Ancestry/YouTube

Ancestry/YouTube

Ancestry/YouTube

Ancestry/YouTube

Ancestry/YouTube

Roberts was torn:

"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!"

She finished:

"This was a very unexpected turn."

More from Trending

A person cooking with a mis en place
person slicing green vegetable in front of round ceramic plates with assorted sliced vegetables during daytime

Chefs Break Down The Best Cooking 'Hacks' Everyone Should Know

While some people find cooking soothing and therapeutic, others might break into hives at the very thought of it.

Mainly owing to the fact that they don't always find the journey quite worth the payoff of a perfectly cooked roast chicken, or a spongy and creamy cake.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; Screenshot of Donald Trump
Mario Tama/Getty Images; @atrupar/X

Gavin Newsom Hilariously Trolls Trump For Struggling To Stay Awake During Antifa Roundtable

California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked President Donald Trump for appearing to fall asleep during a White House roundtable about Antifa, which the administration recently designated a "domestic terror organization" even though it's not an organization at all.

Antifa is a loose network of anti-fascist activists with no central structure, no funding, no membership roster, and no offices or leadership hierarchy for prosecutors to target.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @timleesblee's TikTok video
@timleesblee/TikTok

Remote Worker Speaks Out After Job Uses 'Dystopian' Software To Track His Productivity

There are a few vital truths to every office-based job. First, there are going to be "busy work" moments, from meetings to admin tasks to minor side-quest-style projects that add to the company in some small way but otherwise feel like a waste of time.

Second, as human beings, we all need breaks to restore our mental focus, so a person who occasionally scrolls through their personal email, sends a few texts to a friend, or even scrolls Instagram for a few minutes, will likely be more productive than those who attempt to lock in and do nothing but their job throughout their entire shift.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot from @skylr.m's TikTok video
@skylr.m/TikTok

Texas Mechanic Speaks Out After Noticing How The Price Of Services Skyrocketed Within The Past Year

A mechanic in Texas turned heads with his observations about how dramatically prices have gone up in the past year.

TikToker @skylr.m from San Antonio, Texas, admitted that he doesn't know anything "about politics" but felt the price jumps he's been witnessing in real time are "pretty crazy."

Keep ReadingShow less
Tweet and photos from @ZONEofTECH's  Twitter (X) account
@ZONEofTECH/Twitter (X)

Man Hospitalized After Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring Swells On His Finger Before Flight

Most of us have worn a ring at some point in time. If the ring felt a little snug and struggled to pass the knuckle, we might have experienced that irrational fear that the ring might not ever come off again!

But for Twitter (X) user, Daniel, that became a valid concern while wearing his Samsung Galaxy Ring.

Keep ReadingShow less