While she’s built up a great reputation for herself as an actress, it’s often impossible to discussEmma Robertswithout her famous family members being brought up at the same time. However, now 32 years old, the young actress has already wracked up an impressive list of acting credits that include starring in over 35 films and over a dozen major series.
She burst onto the scene back in 2001 where shelanded a significant roleas Johnny Depp’s daughter in the biographical crime drama filmBlow.Barely 10 years old at the time, winning the role was already a huge triumph for her since it was the first film she ever auditioned for.
Many other child stars at that age may have been overawed by the occasion of acting among illustrious co-stars like Depp and Penélope Cruz, who also starred in the film, but Roberts was different in many ways. Even as a doe-eyed child, she was no stranger to being around megastars. The simple reason is that Emma Roberts is the daughter of the enigmatic actorEric Roberts, which of course also makes her the niece of Julia Roberts. The fact that those two names invariably come up wherever Emma Roberts is mentioned may, however, be a little unfair since the young starlet has proven by her acting chops alone that she’s more than capable of being famous in her own right. Here’s a brief look at how she got there.
Emma Roberts' Early Life and Breakthrough
Despite having such an illustrious background in the industry, Emma Roberts faced many difficulties in her childhood. Her dad Eric Roberts was famously a major star in the ’80s when he won his first Golden Globe and also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor inRunaway Train.Despite this, Roberts’s career faltered due to run-ins with the law for drug charges and allegations that he was physically abusive to his partners.
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The actorlater redeemed his careerand has amassed over 700 film and television credits to his name. In 1991, he had his only child with his former partner, Kelly Cunningham. While Emma Roberts was still young, Cunningham split from Eric, and he lost custody of his daughter. Emma Roberts, in light of her father’s struggles as an actor, was warned by her mother not to pursue acting too early.
Nevertheless, Roberts still broke out as a child star when she appeared inBlow.She immediately followed this up with minor roles in the short filmBig Loveand an uncredited part inAmerica’s Sweethearts,which starredJulia Roberts. Between 2004 and 2007, the actress played a starring role in the Nickelodeon sitcomUnfabulous. By 2008, she was making starring roles in films such asNancy Drewand the popular teen filmWild Child.By this point,it was already becoming clear that a new star from the Roberts family had arrived.
Shedding Her Image
Given her entrance to Hollywood, her days as a child star, and her Nickelodeon fame, coupled with her cute and innocent looks, Emma Roberts developed something of a tame public image. By the 2010s, however, Roberts had begun firmly shedding this image as she took on darker roles like one of the starring roles inScream 4.In it,she played Jill Roberts, the cousin of the slasher franchise’s main character Sidney, and the infamous Ghostface’s latest target. Roberts followed this up with roles in the iconicAmerican Horror Storyfranchise. She later also took on the main role of Chanel Oberlin in the popular satirical slasher seriesScream Queens.
Her career has blossomed in the 2010s and beyond. Roberts has since starred in hit films likeWe’re the Millersand has gone on to add producer credits in other projects to her repertoire as well. After continuing recurring roles invarious seasons ofAmerica Horror Story,the actress is set to take up the main role in the upcomingAmerican Horror Story: Delicate— in addition to firmly shedding her image as a child star and becoming something of a sex symbol among young adult fans along the way.
Despite all her success and mostly managing to maintain a far cleaner image than Eric Roberts had at times, Emma Roberts’s career hasn’t been controversy-free. After meeting fellow actor Evan Peters on the set of their filmAdult World, the pair began an on-and-off relationship that lasted many years. In 2013, the young couple was embroiled in legal drama when they got into a very loud fight in a hotel room that led to the cops being called.
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Roberts was actually arrested for assaulting Evans in the ensuing drama, but he declined to press charges. The pair later split in 2019 and Roberts eventually began dating actor Garrett Hedlund, with whom she welcomed her first child in 2020. Despite sometimes showing that she could be a chip off the old block, Roberts has still maintained a far more respectable image in Hollywood than her father managed in his younger days.
What the Future Holds for Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts has never fully shed the image of being Julia Roberts’s niece. However, the young star has proven time and time again that she also belongs in the entertainment industry on her own merits. Rather than stray from trying to be associated with her megastar aunt, Roberts often pays homage to her famous family member in addition to also starring in two films with her,Grand ChampionandValentine’s Day.
After recently starring in the romantic-comedy filmMaybe I Do, Roberts is also set to star in theupcoming superhero filmMadame Webbased on the Marvel character bearing the same name. As the sixth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe that already includes major characters like Venom in it, this association also possibly opens the door to Roberts one day joining the MCU, should the Spider-Man characters from Sony’s world integrate into it.
Despite her famous family members and other ups and downs, Emma Roberts’s career looks set to grow further as she continues to make movies and shine as a Hollywood star in her own right.
