Julia Roberts has made headlines for a startling discovery concerning her family’s history. The star actress recently joined PBS ‘s Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Finding Your Roots, where a bombshell was dropped on her.
Roberts Took A Generational DNA Test
On Wednesday, Roberts sat with Gates Jr. digging deep into her roots and thrown into a wild spiral from there. During the process of the test and the duration of the show, she learned startling details about her family, and how she has been bearing the wrong surname.
Gates Jr. Shared His Discovery Of Julia’s Family History
The TV personality carried out research on Julia’s bloodline and discovered something odd about the older generation of her family. Gates Jr. made it known that he discovered that the woman who was presumed to be the Tickets to Paradise actress’ great-great-grandfather did not father her great-grandfather.
The Discovered Discrepancy In Julias Roots
According to the anchor’s result, Julia’s great-grandfather was born years after her great great grandfather, Wills Roberts passed on. It was relayed that he died more than a decade before his supposed son was born. Her great-grandmother Rhoda Suttle Roberts married Willis in the 1850s, and his death in 1864 left a gaping space.
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Gates Jr. On Clusters Of Julia’s Family Ties
The celebrity historian went further by relaying that the public database found a “cluster of matches” that linked the 55-year-old actress to a certain Henry McDonald Mitchell Jr. At that point, he added that Julia was a Mitchell.
How Julia Reacted
The Notting Hill actress could not believe what she had just heard, as she did a double take. In disbelief, Julia asked if she was not a Roberts to which Gates Jr. affirmed. He went further by letting her know she was “Julia Mitchell.”
Julia’s Family Fiasco Included Other Details
According to Gates Jr., Mitchell was married around the time he was involved with Rhoda. He added that Mitchell had six children from his marriage. Another mind-blowing detail Gates Jr. unearthed this time, from the reach of census data, was that Rhoda lived four houses from Mitchell’s widowed mom.
Julia Shared Her Feelings About The Discovery
The Oscar-winning actress was speechless and could only let out a “wow” as she took it all in. When Gates Jr. asked her how she felt about the discovery of her bloodline, Julia relayed that there were two sides to it. She stated: “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!”
More Blasts From The Past
Julia noted that the whole ancestral trace took “an unexpected turn” than she envisioned. Wrapping up his findings, Gates Jr. stated that Mitchell Jr. seemingly lost the paper trail in the late 1800s, but can still be traced down to the 18th century.
A Link Between Julia And Edward Norton
In another episode of the show, star actor Edward Norton joined Gates Jr. and also received some shocking but interesting information. The historian stated that the Primal Fear actor’s 12th great-grandmother was the famous Powhatan woman, Pocahontas. he also shared that Norton and Julia shared similarities in their DNA sequence enough to determine that they share a common ancestor.
