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Julia Roberts’ global fame was ‘really scary,’ reveals niece Emma Roberts



Emma Roberts has opened up about her aunt Julia Roberts’ global stardom. Getty Images

Emma Roberts has opened up about Julia Roberts’ global stardom, recalling it was “really scary” to witness the level of fame her aunt garnered.

Emma — the daughter of Eric Roberts and niece of the “Pretty Woman” actress — explained on the “Table for Two” podcast Tuesday that fame comes with its downsides.

“I saw very up close what that really looks like with my aunt Julia,” the “American Horror Story” star, 33, told Bruce Bozzi after being quizzed on her goal of becoming a “massive movie star.”

Emma said it was “really scary” to witness the level of fame her aunt garnered. Getty Images

“It’s fun and it’s great, but there is a part of it that’s really scary.”

The “Wild Child” actress added that she “always wanted to kind of carve my own path” instead of following in the footsteps of her Oscar-winning aunt.

“Fame has never been the goal, because fame at a certain level is kind of scary,” she said.

Emma explained on the “Table for Two” podcast that fame comes with its downsides. WireImage

“Even in my later teens, I was like, I never want my fame to outweigh my work,” she added. “Because there’s nothing scarier to me than being so famous that you’re never left alone, but also you’re not getting good jobs.”

Elsewhere, Emma weighed in on the “nepo baby” debate, saying there are “two sides of the coin” to it.

Emma said she “always wanted to kind of carve my own path” instead of following in the footsteps of her famous aunt. AFP/Getty Images

Since making her acting debut in “Blow” at age 9, Emma has been in the spotlight for her career accomplishments, but also for her firm Hollywood connections.

However, she claimed that with a famous family comes added pressure — but typically only for women.

Emma is the daughter of actor Eric Roberts. WireImage

“I always joke, ‘Why is no one calling out George Clooney for being a nepo baby? [His aunt] Rosemary Clooney was an icon,’” she said.

“I feel like young girls get it harder with the nepo baby thing,” she added. “Like, I don’t really see people calling out sons of famous actors.”

Julia Roberts earned her stripes as one of the most successful actresses in Hollywood. Getty Images for Chopard

Gender aside, Emma said she doesn’t think “anyone should be called out for wanting to follow their dream.”

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Emma explained that the public “loves an overnight success story,” which drew an easy target on her back from a young age.

“And so if you’re kind of not the girl from the middle of nowhere that broke into Hollywood, there’s kind of an eye roll of like, ‘Well, your dad was this,’” she said.

Julia won an Oscar in 2001 for her performance in “Erin Brockovich.” Getty Images

On top of that, Emma explained that people who criticize the children of the rich and famous often don’t see the full picture.

“People only see your wins, because they only see when you’re on the poster of a movie — they don’t see all the rejection along the way,” she said.

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