‘My mind is exploding!’ Julia Roberts is shocked to learn she’s not really a ‘Roberts’ after DNA files reveal a secret family scandal
- Julia discovers her great-grandfather’s identity after a family scandal
- Through DNA, it is discovered 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 should be a Mitchell, after her family tree traces back to Henry MacDonald Mitchell Jr.
- Henry’s mother lived just four doors down from Rhoda, Georgia, and had a secret affair in the late 1870s while married to a woman named Sarah.
Julia Roberts was shocked to discover she is not a ‘Roberts’ after a search of her family’s archives revealed a secret scandal.
The 55-year-old actress starred in Ancestory’s Finding Your Roots to discover more about her family tree through DNA files and genealogy work with the help of Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.
And Julia couldn’t believe it when she learned that her last name is completely different, due to her 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 is not a ‘Roberts’ after a dig into her family archives revealed a secret scandal
The Doctor. Henry told the actress: ‘Searching 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, over a decade before Rhoda gave birth to Julia’s great-grandfather John, leading to an inevitable conclusion.
When looking at the archives, Willis is not listed on 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 files and genealogy work
Stunned: Julia couldn’t believe it when she was told her last name is completely different, due to her great-grandmother Rhoda Suttle Roberts having an affair with a married man
The Doctor. Henry gave Julia time to find out that Willis was missing, prompting him to tell her, ‘Willis Roberts couldn’t be her great-grandfather. He was dead.’
A shocked Julia replied: ‘But I’m not a Roberts?’
The historian went on to explain how his team dug deep into Georgia’s archives but couldn’t find any details about the identity of Julia’s great-grandfather.
Archives: Dr. Henry explained how his team dug deep into the Georgia archives but couldn’t find any details about the identity of Julia’s great-grandfather.
They then began looking at DNA by extracting samples from the actress and a cousin to see if they could find a match as to who her great-grandfather’s father was.
doctor Henry explained: ‘We found a group of matches that link Julia and her cousin to a man’… Henry MacDonald Mitchell Jr.
After reading the name, Julia asked, ‘So we’re Mitchells?’, with the teacher confirming that she is ‘Julia Mitchell’.
The story takes another interesting turn as it is revealed in the census that Henry is married to a woman named Sarah and has six children.
Putting together the puzzle, Dr. Henry says that Rhoda lived only four houses down from Henry’s mother.
Upon receiving the news, Julia said: ‘Really, my mind is blown. It is fascinating. And on the other hand, there’s a part of me that you know when I’m calmer, you know 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 of events.’
‘My mind is blown’: After reading the name, Julia asked: ‘So we’re Mitchells?’, with the teacher confirming that she is ‘Julia Mitchell’
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