Eric Roberts has shared insights into the strained relationship he has with his sisters.
Family relationships can be complex, and being in the public eye can make them even more challenging.
Born in 1956, Eric Roberts, now 68, is the eldest of his siblings.
His sister Lisa, who has also ventured into the film industry, was born in 1965, followed by Julia Roberts, famous for her role in “Sleeping with the Enemy,” in 1967.
Eric was the first among them to break into the movie industry. As of this year, he has appeared in nearly 800 films.
His film career has earned him several prestigious nominations, including three Golden Globes and an Academy Award.
Eric has mentioned that he played a role in helping Julia enter the film industry.
In a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair, he discussed Julia and his daughter, Emma Roberts, who stars in “American Horror Story.” Eric said, “If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and I’m very proud of that.”
He continued, “When Julia first came to New York, I went into William Morris and I said, ‘Which one of you is going to sign my sister Julia?'”
Eric expressed pride in his early achievements, stating, “I am so proud that everybody knows I was first, because I was first by a long shot. I was first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, so I’m proud of that.”
Despite his claims that he and Julia have “always been fine” amid rumors of a fallout, Eric has recently backtracked and issued an apology to her.
In an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir “Runaway Train: Or, The Story of My Life So Far,” shared by MailOnline, Eric wrote, “One of the things I’d like to apologize for in this book is for publicly saying on more than one occasion, ‘If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts.'”
He added, “That’s not only unfortunate, but it’s also untrue. And I hope Julie will accept this more public apology. It was an asinine thing to have said.”
Eric also addresses the ‘undoing’ of his relationship with his sisters after falsely claiming that their mother had died following their parents’ divorce.
Reflecting on this, Eric wrote, “I’m only now beginning to realize the impact it must have had to Julie and Lisa, who were 11 and 13 years old, who were living with our mom but hearing their big brother… saying in public that their mom is dead.”
He continued, “It was the great undoing of my relationship with my sisters. That I was unconcerned about them and focused only on my mom reading that I’d killed her off was such a selfish thing to have done.”