Julia Roberts has revealed that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King paid for her birth after her parents were unable to cover the hospital expenses.
The surprising connection Roberts shares with the civil rights leaders emerged when fans, in celebration of the star's 55th birthday on Oct. 28, began circulating a recent interview Roberts did with journalist Gayle King, who has no relation to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. or his wife. One Twitter user posted a clip of the interview in which King asked Roberts to explain what happened the day she was born and reveal who paid for her hospital bill.
"OK, her research is very good," Roberts told the crowd. "The King family paid for my hospital bills."
"Not my family," Gayle replied, clarifying that Roberts was referring to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. "Why did they do that?" she asked.
Roberts went on to explain that her parents, Betty Lou Bredemus and Walter Grady Roberts, could not afford to pay the hospital bill after she was born in 1967.
"My parents had a theater school in Atlanta called the Actors and Writers Workshop," she shared. "And one day Coretta Scott King called my mother and asked if her kids could be part of the school because they were having a hard time finding a place that would accept her kids. And my mom was like, ‘Sure. Come on over.'"
She added, "And so they just all became friends and they helped us out of a jam."
Bernice King, the youngest child of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, took to Twitter Sunday to express her gratitude at the attention the story was drawing.
"Grateful that #JuliaRoberts shared this story with @GayleKing and that so many people have been awed by it," she wrote. "I know the story well, but it is moving for me to be reminded of my parents’ generosity and influence."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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