09/06/2026
Martin Luther King Jr. footed the hospital bill for Julia Roberts's birth in 1967 when her family was facing very tough financial times. Her parents were struggling to make ends meet and could not afford the medical costs, so the King family stepped in out of deep gratitude for Julia's parents, who ran a small theater school in Atlanta and welcomed the King children when few other places would.
It is an incredible piece of history that shows how simple acts of kindness can bind people together across generations.
Betty Lou and Walter Roberts, Julia's parents, co-founded the Actors and Actresses Workshop in Atlanta during a pivotal time in American history.
During the 1960s, racial segregation was still a major issue in the American South, and finding inclusive spaces for Black children to explore the creative arts was exceptionally rare.
Coretta Scott King was looking for a drama school for her children—Yolanda, Martin Luther King III, Dexter, and Bernice. When she reached out to the Roberts family, they welcomed the King children with open arms and complete equality.
The two families formed a quiet, meaningful connection built on mutual respect and shared human values.
The King family appreciated having a safe, creative environment where their children could learn acting and express themselves freely.
At the same time, the Roberts family treated everyone who walked through their studio doors with equal warmth and dignity, regardless of race.
However, running an independent theater school in those years was not financially easy, and when Betty Lou became pregnant with Julia, money was extremely tight.
Knowing the financial strain the Roberts family was experiencing, Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta decided to return the favor in the most generous way possible.
They quietly stepped forward and paid the entire medical cost for Julia’s delivery at the hospital. Without that compassionate support, the family would have started their new chapter under severe financial hardship.
Julia Roberts herself did not publicly discuss this story for many decades, keeping it as a cherished family memory. It came to light during a public conversation with journalist Gayle King, who brought up the history during an interview.
Julia confirmed the story with deep appreciation and explained how much that bond meant to her parents.
"My parents had a theater school in Atlanta called the Actors and Actresses Workshop," Julia shared during the interview. "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 them. My mom said, 'Sure, come on over.' And so they all became friends, and they helped us out of a jam."
That quiet gesture of goodwill from the King family ensured that a newborn baby girl had a safe arrival into the world.
Decades later, that little baby grew up to become one of the most beloved and celebrated actresses in global cinema. Yet the foundation of her life remains tied to a heartwarming story of solidarity, mutual help, and quiet generosity between two families who chose inclusion over division.
Sometimes the greatest stories in Hollywood are not written in a script, but in the quiet, compassionate choices made by everyday heroes.
>We Are Human Angels<
Authors
Awakening the Human Spirit
We are the authors of 'We Are Human Angels,' the book that has spread a new vision of the human experience and has been spontaneously translated into 14 languages by readers.
We hope our writing sparks something in you!
