celebrity

A 20-year marriage and a return to rom-coms: What Julia Roberts' life is like now.

Listen to this story being read by Brielle Burns, here.


Julia Roberts has graced our screens for over three decades.

From her breakout role in Pretty Woman to leading lady in the iconic film Notting Hill - and many, many other rom coms - Roberts has continued to find success in Hollywood. 

But despite her years in the spotlight, Roberts has kept her family life very private. 

The 54-year-old shares three kids, including twins, with her husband of 20 years, Danny Moder, 53. 

And just like any other parent, Roberts says she has struggled to find a balance in working and achieving her passions alongside being a mother. And for her, she says it has to come down to a balancing act.

We take a look at what else has happened in Julia Roberts' life, including her marriage to Moder, her equally famous niece and some recent comments she made about why she hasn't starred in a rom coms for two decades.

Watch: Emma Roberts talks about her aunt, Julia Roberts. Post continues below.

ADVERTISEMENT

How Julia Roberts met Danny Moder. 

Roberts keeps her relationship with her husband relatively quiet, but she marked their 20-year anniversary in July 2022 with a sweet tribute on Instagram. 

The 54-year-old shared a photo of her and Moder kissing alongside the hashtag #cantstopkissing.

The pair met on the set of the 2000 film The Mexican, where Roberts starred alongside Brad Pitt. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Moder was married to makeup artist Vera Steimberg at the time while Roberts was in a relationship with actor Benjamin Bratt. When the pair got together, it caused quite an uproar, but Roberts has always maintained she wasn't the reason Moder split from his ex-wife. 

"He sorted his whole thing out, separate and apart from me," she told Oprah in 2003. "And I sorted my life out, separate and apart from him. I think that’s the only reason we were able to ultimately fall in love with each other and be together.

"I'm an easy person to point the finger at - 'she did it' - and I see that. I don't begrudge people the easy finger-point. It just doesn't happen to be so."

After his divorce was finalised the couple married on July 4, 2002, at Roberts' New Mexico ranch. 

Looking back, the actress says meeting and marrying Moder was a "real seismic shift".

"That was the first [feeling] like 'my life will never be the same' in the most incredible, indescribable way," she said on Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop podcast in 2018. 

The pair occasionally attend Hollywood events together or mark milestones on social media, but mostly maintain a low-key public profile.

In 2021, Moder shared a photo on his Instagram for their 19th anniversary.

"Today we start our 20th year of marriage. This photo was on a dusty road before that big idea… just holding on to this beautiful girl one day at a time. One epic day at a time," he captioned the post.

ADVERTISEMENT

Image: Getty. 

ADVERTISEMENT

What Roberts and Moder's life is like with three kids.

Two years after tying the knot, Julia Roberts and Danny Moder welcomed their first children, twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, in 2004. 

Three years later they welcomed their son Henry in 2007.  

Speaking to Harper's Bazaar in 2018, Roberts shared a conversation she had with her kids about her fame. 

"I don't think they will ever have a true sense of that," she told the publication.

"Once when they were starting to figure it out, it was like, 'You’re famous?' And I said, 'I think a lot of people might have seen the movie that I’m in or might know who I am.' Maybe an hour goes by. 'Are you more famous than Taylor Swift?'"

ADVERTISEMENT

In a 2022 interview with the New York Times, Roberts said that making time for her family amid her busy and successful film career has always been paramount to her. 

"I had three kids in the last 18 years. That raises the bar even more because then it's not only 'Is this material good?' It's also the math equation of my husband's work schedule and the kids' school schedule and summer vacation," she said about being choosy with the roles she takes on.

"It's not just, 'oh, I think I want to do this'. I have a sense of great pride in being home with my family and considering myself a homemaker."

Now that her kids are older however, Roberts said she feels more obliged to take on roles she is passionate about.

"As they get older, and particularly with my daughter, I do have a sense of responsibility for showing my children that I can be creative and that it's meaningful to me."

Aside from Hazel's red carpet debut, the world doesn't see much of Roberts' kids. The father-daughter duo attended the premiere of the film Flag Day in September 2021where Moder worked as a cinematographer.

In line with keeping their lives private, Roberts chose to post a baby image of her twins for their 17th birthday rather than an updated one.

However, their dad has shared a few photos on Instagram over the years.

ADVERTISEMENT

Danny and Hazel Moder at the Cannes Film Festival. Image: Getty. 

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Fame runs in the family.

One famous family member we do hear about is Roberts' niece Emma Roberts. 

The Scream Queens star has had a close relationship with her Aunt since she was a kid and has formative memories of watching her on set. 

"My mum and I would stay with my Aunt Julia when I was really young, so I grew up on sets," Emma Roberts told Glamour in 2015. 

"I just found this old Polaroid of me on the set of Erin Brockovich, in one of my Aunt Julia's super-padded dresses from the movie, with the biggest smile on my face. I'd cry when I had to leave. I loved that it felt like camp."

The pair are still close today with Julia’s brother, Eric Roberts, telling US Magazine that his sister and daughter are "both such Robertses". 

"It’s really cool to look at them. I love seeing them together," he told the publication.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

What Julia Roberts is doing now.

Along with the 2022 Stan series Gaslit, Roberts is also set to appear in the upcoming rom com Ticket to Paradise alongside George Clooney. 

In the same interview with the New York Times, Roberts explained why she hasn't starred in a rom com for over 20 years. 

"People sometimes misconstrue the amount of time that's gone by that I haven't done a romantic comedy as my not wanting to do one. Here's the thing - If I'd thought something was good enough, I would have done it," Roberts told the Times. "If I had read something that I thought was that Notting Hill level of writing or My Best Friend's Wedding level of madcap fun, I would do it. They didn't exist until this movie that I just did that Ol Parker wrote and directed."

Parker, the writer and director of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is also behind Ticket To Paradise

Reflecting on her career, Roberts said - "I'm living my acting dreams. Everybody's experience is unique and should be unique. I decided a while ago that I'll never really understand what people think about me and I don't need to."

ADVERTISEMENT

This post was originally published November 30, 2021 and was updated on July 8, 2022.

Feature Image: Getty/Touchstone Pictures/Universal Pictures/Mamamia.

Love watching TV and movies? Take our survey now to go in the running to win a $50 gift voucher.