Eric Roberts’ Wife Eliza Looks Familiar

Aug 19, 2022 by apost team

There’s nothing quite like the Roberts’ smile in Hollywood, and it – whether Eric’s, Julia’s or Emma’s – can light up the small and big screen like no other.

But for eldest Eric Roberts, what really puts a smile on his face is his love for his wife, Eliza, and the couple shares an adorable love story spanning more than 20 years.

Eric was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Apr. 18, 1956, to a vacuum cleaner salesman dad and a church secretary and real estate agent mother. He made his feature film debut in 1978’s “King of the Gypsies,” drawing immediate acclaim and earning his first Golden Globe nomination. The popularity of films that followed, such as “Star 80,” “Best of the Best,” “Blood Red” and “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” would make Eric a household name and an Oscar nomination for 1985’s “Runaway Train” would cement his star status in Hollywood.

But with great fame comes great responsibility. In much the same manner as the Hollywood bad boys of the early 1980s, Eric, too, fell into the dangerous cycle of abusing drugs. In 1987, Eric was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer and being in possession of cocaine and marijuana. Drugs would continue to play a part in his life for many years.

Eric was attached to actress Sandy Dennis for five years in the early 1980s before dating Kelly Cunningham a few years later. He and Cunningham had baby Emma, who would follow in the footsteps of her famous father and aunt Julia to become a Hollywood star.

But it was a chance meeting on an airplane that would seal the romantic fate for Eric.

There’s no denying that the Roberts family is quite talented. Eric was born to Betty Lou Bredemus and Walter Grady Roberts, who were both actors and playwrights. They had even co-founded the Atlanta Actors and Writer Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s and later ran a children’s acting school. It’s not surprising that Eric and his siblings caught the acting bug and found themselves working in the entertainment industry.

Eric got his start in the soap opera “Another World” back in 1977. Although he only worked on the show for a few months, he persisted on and followed his passion. Just one year later, Eric found himself on the receiving end of Golden Globe Award nominations for his starring roles in “King of the Gypsies” and “Star 80.” He was then nominated for a prestigious Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1985 film “Runaway Train.”

However, in 1985, Eric spoke with PEOPLE about his career – and it didn’t seem like everything was running so smoothly. “Actors love to be in pain,” he said. “It’s called show business, not show art, for a reason.”

Despite being nominated for a few awards, it didn’t seem like many of his films were giving him the amount of success that he had hoped for. But Eric understood that that is just part of the business sometimes and simply said, “What can you do? Whether or not the crowd shows, you still gotta play ball.” He was frustrated over the lack of attention the film “Star 80” received, considering the fact that he had to gain 35 pounds for his role, according to PEOPLE. 

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However, the star garnered more than enough attention when he was sent to the hospital for a month following a car accident in 1981. Eric had been driving a doorless Jeep at the time when his then-girlfriend Sandy Dennis’ dog leaned too far out the window. Eric let go of the steering wheel to grab the dog but lost control of the car, ending up in a coma for three days, according to PEOPLE.

Thankfully, the actor recovered and continued on with his career. Moving into the next decade, Eric continued working in film and also made an appearance in the “Doctor Who” TV film in 1996. It wasn’t long before Eric found himself working more on television as he landed roles in “Less than Perfect,” “CSI: Miami” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

Eric also utilized his charming and animated voice and became a voice actor for various cartoons, including “Danny Phantom,” “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited.” And if that wasn’t enough to prove that Eric had quite a unique catalog, he also made an appearance in several music videos over the years, playing a variety of characters in each one.

Eric appeared in the music video for the song “Mr. Brightside” by the Killers in 2003. Eric was so beloved that he even reprised the music video’s character role in the 2012 song “Miss Atomic Bomb.” The actor also appeared in Mariah Carey’s music video for “We Belong Together” in 2004, as well as Rihanna’s music video for “B**** Better Have My Money” in 2015. 

According to Vanity Fair, Eric was originally cast to play the husband in Rihanna’s video, but the singer changed her mind because the husband character was killed off in the video. According to Rihanna, Eric was “too fine” to do that to, so he was instead cast as a clueless cop.

Eric realized that starring in music videos was a great way to reach more people. “So I was like a lucky charm for a while,” he said, adding that many of the video’s actual songs did well on the charts. “I got a whole new audience,” he added.

It’s clear that Eric is a very busy man as he has continuously found work over his long career. Nowadays, Eric is in his mid-60s and is still going strong. And while he may not be acting in the major motion blockbusters that he used to, he has found a great place for himself in the world of B movies – movies that are considered second to the major motion pictures and typically have a smaller budget. However, doing this type of film allowed Eric to star in more motion pictures, allowing his fans to see more of his work.

During his interview with Vanity Fair, Eric talked about this shift in his career. He said:

“I start making a bunch of B movies – bam bam bam bam bam bam – one after the other, and then suddenly, two three years have passed, and I made like 30 films in two, three years. Now, in the past two years, I’ve made around 70 movies.”

Eric admitted that this change actually made him happier as a working actor. “I started having fun at the craft,” he said. “I’m a f****** groupie for it! I can do it every day, all day.” However, not everyone was as impressed with Eric’s new work ethic, and people even began making fun of the acclaimed star. But soon enough, people began seeing just how broad Eric’s range was and came to be thoroughly impressed with his work.

“And so suddenly it’s like’s 250 movies, and I realize, I went from being a joke that’ll do anything to being, ‘Is there anything he can’t do?’” Eric said.

And while Eric has definitely proven that he really can do it all, his family is equally as talented. Eric’s sister Julia has made a name for herself as an actress in films such as “Pretty Woman,” “Eat Pray Love” and “Notting Hill,” proving to be an impressive woman in the romantic comedy genre as well as others.

On top of that, Eric’s daughter Emma is also a wonderful actress and has also shown her talent as a singer. Eric welcomed his daughter with Kelly Cunningham on Feb. 10, 1991. However, Eric and Cunningham did not stay together, as Eric went on to marry his current wife Eliza in 1992.

Having seemingly caught the acting bug from her dad, Emma found fame early on, making her major film debut at the age of 10 in the 2001 drama movie “Blow.” Emma’s career flourished more during her teenage years thanks to the Nickelodeon show “Unfabulous,” in which she sang and acted. 

Afterward, the young actress starred in several movies like “Nancy Drew” and “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” before finding more mature roles. She is now arguably most famous for her ever-changing roles in the anthology horror series “American Horror Story.” According to Pop Culturalist, she is also a producer.

According to PEOPLE, Emma witnessed Julia in action while sitting on movie sets such as “Erin Brockovich” and “America’s Sweethearts.” She explained, “I would ask questions without a filter. This industry really is ‘learn as you go.’” However, Emma had her own career plans. “I never aspired to be her,” she said, referring to her aunt. “I love her so much, I love her work, but I’m just doing my own thing.” Fortunately, the two women shared the screen together in the 2010 film “Valentine’s Day.”

And while Emma and Julia have certainly proven that they conquer the screen, Eric has taken some credit for his family’s success. According to Vanity Fair, he said, “If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts as celebrities, as actresses, and I’m very proud of that.” He continued, “And I am so proud that everybody knows I was first, because I was first by a long shot. I was first to get Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations, so I’m proud of that.”

Eric has shown that he is very proud of his family, and he is also proud to be with his wife, Eliza. The pair have been together for two decades, and their love story is absolutely beautiful, although it started in quite an interesting way.

Before they had ever met, Eric and casting director Eliza had heard of each other as they ran in similar Hollywood circles. On an MGM Grand airlines, Eric happened to be seated next to her. Both of them were holding scripts they had planned to read on the plane, but because they didn’t want to “talk shop,” they ditched the texts and got to talking for real. During the conversation, Eliza randomly asked Eric who his favorite screenwriter was, to which he replied, “David Rayfiel,” who happened to be Eliza’s father.

However, one small hunch had played on Eliza’s mind. She told Vanity Fair:

“So there were all these strange connections. … But I thought he was probably gay because he was very pretty and had a cat on his lap named Tender.”

Luckily for the two, that was not the case, and six years later, on Aug. 11, 1992, they walked down the aisle and have never looked back.

Though the pair do not have biological children of their own, Eric had Emma from his previous relationship, and Eliza had two children from a previous marriage. One of Eliza’s children, Keaton Simons, is a musician and plays in the band Brett Young Music. Her other child, daughter Morgan, veered away from the creative industry and owns a pie shop.

Having been married for 20 years and in love for far longer, many have quizzed Eric and Eliza on the secrets to their long-lasting relationship. They say for them, it's not always rainbows and butterflies.

In the early years of their marriage, Eric was still abusing drugs, putting Eliza in a difficult situation. He said of his addiction back then:

“Everybody from executives to craft service was doing cocaine. I was doing it to the point where my wife said, ‘It’s me or the coke.’ I did all the psychotropics. I got myself arrested (in 1987). I went back to pot. I’ve been a pothead all my life, with several sober breaks I refer to as binge sobriety.”

Asked point blank in an interview on what had prompted Eric to ditch the habit, he pointed to his wife without hesitation. 

“Oh her! … You know it just became a choice, it was like you know (coke or Eliza) … ‘this drug is awful what are you doing, it's me or the drug.’”

After overcoming the struggle together, Eric and Eliza’s bond became stronger. Eric makes no effort to hide his affection for his wife, telling Closer Weekly:

“I was on a trip for only three days and I thought, ‘God, I hate being away from her!' … I can’t stand it, because I got old with her, this is my roommate, my pal, my confidante, my manager, the girl I kiss.”

Eliza, meanwhile, had gushed about her husband: “He’s had the bad-boy image from age 19 to 59, and still the crush-worthiness of him spans generations and genders.”

Since their “love at first script,” Eric and Eliza have built a beautiful and exciting life together, which now includes being grandparents to Emma’s first child, born on Dec. 27, 2020, with actor Garrett Hedlund.

We wish the happy couple the best, and if the past is anything to go by, they’re sure to make it through any struggles that may come their way.

What do you think of Eric and Eliza Roberts’s relationship? How cute was their first meeting on the plane? Let us know, and remember to pass this on to the couples and would-be couples you know!