He had the smoldering eyes, the dangerous charm, and the kind of talent that made him one of Hollywood’s most magnetic stars of the ’80s.
But behind the fame, red carpets, and flashing cameras, one heartbreaking decision has followed him all his life.
Because before he became an Oscar-nominated actor… he was a young father who walked away from his baby girl — when she was just seven months old.
Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1956, Eric Roberts rose to fame as one of the most promising leading men of his generation.
After earning raves on Broadway for Burn This, he quickly exploded onto the movie scene, earning Golden Globe nominations for King of the Gypsies, Star 80, and Runaway Train.
By the mid-1980s, Eric was a Hollywood staple — handsome, talented, and unstoppable. But away from the spotlight, the actor was spiraling into addiction, and that darkness would soon tear apart his family.
When Eric’s daughter Emma was born on February 10, 1991, it didn’t take long for everything to fall apart.
Abandoned her when she was 7 months old
“I had abandoned Kelly when Emma was just seven months old,” he once admitted, referring to his ex-partner Kelly Cunningham and their infant daughter.
At the time, Roberts was deep in his struggles with drug use. The relationship collapsed, and Kelly won full custody of Emma.
”I couldn’t handle the realities of an infant coming into my life, and I couldn’t handle being a parent,” he reflected in his 2024 memoir Runaway Train.
Even worse – Eric’s world-famous sister, Julia Roberts, sided with Kelly in court.
Many have seen it as Julia Roberts betraying her brother and stabbing him in the back. But according to Eric, that wasn’t the case at all.
”The question has been begged, forever it seems, whether Julia and I had a giant falling out over custody of Emma. I’d like to clear the air about that, once and for all,” he writes in his memoir and continued:
”I never saw myself as someone who deserved to have physical custody of Emma, not in a million years. We both knew better than that. Kelly never claimed I was trying to get physical custody of Emma, so therefore, Julia never sided with Kelly in a custody fight. There really was no custody fight.”
However, the Pretty Woman star stepped in to offer financial help to cover the legal costs during the divorce.
“Thankfully, Julia helped — for Emma’s sake and because she could afford to. I deeply appreciated it.”
The daughter who grew up without him
As Eric wrestled with his addiction, Emma Roberts grew up under her mother’s care — and in the shadow of her famous aunt. She would visit Julia Roberts on the set of Erin Brockovich, where the magic of filmmaking first captured her heart.
”When night fell, I’d run and hide in her makeup trailer and hear, ‘where’s Emma? It’s time for bed! She has to go home!’” Emma recalled in a 2016 interview with Allure.
”I remember it feeling like summer camp, just the feeling of creativity.”
Years later, that same little girl became a star herself, leading American Horror Story, Scream Queens, and We’re the Millers.
But the wound left by her father’s absence never fully healed.
When asked if she was close with him, Emma once replied carefully:
“Um… how do I say this? No, we’re not.”
Eric Roberts today
Today, Eric Roberts is 69. He is sober, reflective, and still working.
He’s spoken openly about the years he lost and the people he hurt.
“For many years, I was a practicing drug addict,” he told Today. “So a lot of people were alienated — especially the family. I owe them a lot because they love me.”
He’s also made peace with his past. He never stopped loving his daughter.
In a touching Instagram post for Emma’s birthday, he shared a photo of her as a little girl, reading a toy instruction booklet while he watched her lovingly.
“As you can see, I am clueless about the task,” he wrote. “But the love on my face, even in profile, for her is undeniable… I knew she’d grow up to be all that and more. I love you, Emma.”
“Addicts aren’t bad guys”
Today, Eric Roberts doesn’t shy away from his truth anymore.
He’s owned his mistakes, rebuilt his marriage to Eliza Roberts, and continues to act in major films and indie projects alike.
“The only way to be a good example is to get through being a casualty,” he said.
“Addicts aren’t bad guys. They’re just making a mistake.”
The actor shared that he has full confidence in his daughter’s ability to handle life in Hollywood.
“I’m often asked if I have concerns about my daughter being in this business of acting,” he wrote. “I love this business. I didn’t realize, of course, how much it beats you up, but Emma’s much stronger than I was at that age and time. She has more tools at her disposal to build a safe place around herself than I ever did.”
For a man who once lost everything, fame, family, and fatherhood — Eric Roberts has found something far more valuable: clarity, forgiveness, and hope.
And though his daughter grew up without him, one thing has never changed.
He’s still watching her, not from the front row of fame, but from the quiet pride of a father who finally learned what really matters.
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