Emma Roberts got her big break playing teen Addie Singer in Nickelodeon's "Unfabulous,"and also appeared in family-friendly movies like Aquamarine (2006), Nancy Drew (2007) and Hotel for Dogs (2009) .
Emma was born in 1991. Her aunt, Julia Roberts, became super famous for the movie Pretty Woman the year before. In a podcast interview, Emma said that her aunt’s global fame was “really scary” at times after she was asked whether becoming a “massive movie star” was ever her goal as an actress.
Emma Roberts has always wanted to carve her own paths
Emma, who is the daughter of Julia's older brother Eric Roberts, has opened up about her relationship with the veteran actress in past interviews — always maintaining that there’s no pressure to live up to Julia’s success.
"I never aspired to be [my aunt]," she told Tatler in the magazine's March 2022 cover story. "I love her so much, I love her work, but I'm just doing my own thing."
The “Wild Child” actress added that she “always wanted to kind of carve my own path” instead of following in the footsteps of her Oscar-winning aunt, revealing she decided against pursuing superstardom because she found her aunt's fame to be "really scary."
“I saw very up close what that really looks like with my Aunt Julia,” Emma said. “It’s fun and it’s great, but there is a part of it that’s really scary
“Fame has never been the goal, because fame at a certain level is kind of scary,” she said.
“Even in my later teens, I was like, I never want my fame to outweigh my work,” she added. “Because there’s nothing scarier to me than being so famous that you’re never left alone, but also you’re not getting good jobs.”
Emma hopes to work with her famous aunt when the right project comes
.jpeg "Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman")
In an interview with Variety, Emma was asked if she and her renowned aunt would ever collaborate on a project. The "Scream Queens" alum expressed that they would, if the right opportunity comes along.
She also revealed that in her alone time, she winds down by rewatching her aunt's classics.
“I would love to find the perfect project for me and my aunt, and I know that there will be something. But it’s never been the right thing,” she told the publication. “She’s the best, and I want to do something with her. We send each other books and talk about stuff but it hasn’t been right.”
Emma Roberts added that she's not only a fan of her aunt's work, she's avid watcher of her films which bring her "comfort."
“I watch her movies when I’m on location and I’m by myself. I have movies of hers downloaded on my computer that I watch for comfort. My Best Friend’s Wedding and America’s Sweethearts are my safe movies,” she said.
Emma Roberts weighed in on the Nepo Baby debate
Elsewhere, Emma commented on the “nepo baby” debate, saying there are “two sides of the coin” to it.
Since her debut in "Blow" at age 9, she has been in the spotlight for both her career and her strong Hollywood connections.
However, she claimed that with a famous family comes added pressure — but typically only for women.
“I always joke, ‘Why is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby? [His aunt] Rosemary Clooney was an icon,’” she said.
“I feel like young girls get it harder with the nepo baby thing,” she added. “Like, I don’t really see people calling out sons of famous actors.
Gender aside, Emma said she doesn’t think “anyone should be called out for wanting to follow their dream.”
Emma explained that the public “loves an overnight success story,” which drew an easy target on her back from a young age.
“And so if you’re kind of not the girl from the middle of nowhere that broke into Hollywood, there’s kind of an eye roll of like, ‘Well, your dad was this,’” she said.
Additionally, Emma asserted that those who criticize the children of the rich and famous frequently overlook the full picture.
“People only see your wins, because they only see when you’re on the poster of a movie — they don’t see all the rejection along the way,” she said.