Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts recalled how Martin Luther King Jr. paid for her family’s hospital bill after she was born.
President Barack Obama’s former strategic advisor Zara Rahim shared the video on Roberts’ 55th birthday where she shared the little-known story of how the Kings and the Roberts became friends during Jim Crowism.
During Roberts’ interview with Gayle King (no relation to MLK), Roberts recalls how the civil rights leader and his wife, Coretta Scott King, helped out the Roberts family, who “couldn’t afford to pay the hospital bill” after her birth.
“The King family paid for my hospital bill … Martin Luther King and Coretta,” Roberts recalls. “They helped us out of a jam.”
The actress best known for her Academy Award-winning role in Erin Brokovich as well as Pretty Woman, said the families quickly became friends during the era of segregation. Therefore, when Roberts’ parents opened up their acting school in Atlanta, they welcomed King’s children when no one else would.
“One day Coretta Scott King called my mother and asked if her kids could be part of the school, ’cause they were having a hard time finding a place that would accept her kids, and my mom was like ‘sure come on over,’” Julia added.
Gayle King praised Julia’s family for taking a stand against segregation.
“In the 60s you didn’t have little Black children interacting with little white kids in an acting school. Your parents were like ‘come on in.’ I think that’s extraordinary and it sort of lays the groundwork for who you are.”
Check out the clip below:
Today is Julia Roberts birthday! 55 years ago MLK and Coretta Scott King paid for her parents hospital bill after she was born. Can’t stop thinking about this since I read it. Here she is talking about it with @GayleKing https://t.co/5HvpNSUIYb pic.twitter.com/147x6d807W
— Zara Rahim (@ZaraRahim) October 28, 2022
