Emma Roberts covers the March issue of Tatler. The interview was conducted before anyone confirmed that she and Garrett Hedlund had broken up, but she managed to shimmy away from relationship questions anyway. This is her branding now: single mother, nepotism actress, book-club-starter, soon to be mogul. I think that’s her ultimate goal, to move away from “acting full time” and into some kind of Reese Witherspoon-esque second career as a producer, lifestyle brand and influencer. Honestly, I don’t hate that for her, because she’s not a good actress at all and I’m all for people quitting sh-t that they’re not good at. Her book club is called Belletrist and her production company’s first Netflix series comes out this year (First Kill, about teenage vampires). Some highlights from her interview:
The paparazzi. ‘The way I was followed and treated when I was pregnant was disgusting. I’d be driving to a doctor’s appointment and they’d be following me so closely. At one point, I remember saying to them, “Please don’t do that, I’m eight months pregnant.” But they don’t care. It’s not the fun, creative part of the job, for sure.’
On her father, Eric Roberts: She references her mother frequently and with affection – ‘She’s pretty much been with me non-stop since Rhodes was born’ – but never mentions her father. Are they close? ‘Um… how do I say this?’ she says, shifting in her chair. ‘No, we’re not.’
She’s an Anglophile: ‘I was obsessed with the royals, obsessed with having an English accent. When I realised that the role [in ‘Wild Child’] meant filming in England for a summer, I felt my life was about to start. I bought my first leather jacket in London and my first leopard-print coat. Living there really influenced what I was into.’
The notion of a royal family is captivating. ‘It feels so fancy and old-fashioned. I remember seeing Buckingham Palace and thinking, “Wait, someone lives there?”’ The Anglo love-in endures to this day: some of her favourite television shows are UK crime dramas. ‘Marcella, Broadchurch, The Fall – I love them. I would love to do a period drama in England. That’s definitely on my acting bucket list.’
Working on ‘About Fate’ four months after she gave birth: ‘I wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t had my mum’s support. Knowing that she was there to take amazing care of Rhodes meant that I could be fully present on set.’
Being diagnosed with endometriosis: For years her complaints of debilitating stomach cramps had been dismissed by her male doctor; it was only when, feeling exasperated, she sought out a female doctor that her symptoms were taken seriously. The delay in diagnosis, Roberts was informed, was likely to have impacted her chances of having a baby. How did she react? ‘I wasn’t upset but I just felt the heaviness of the moment,’ she says, exhaling into the cold air. ‘I sat with myself and thought, “Luckily, I know older women who are great role models of the fact that you don’t need children to be happy.” I either would or would not be a parent. Whichever one it was, I wanted to be in radical acceptance of it.’ She froze her eggs, but ultimately conceived naturally.
When asked about her relationship with Garrett Hedlund: She politely declines to comment. ‘I’m at a place where I can say, “I may not have got everything right but I like who I am more than I ever have.” My life has changed more in the past two years than it did in the 28 years beforehand and I love where I’m standing now at the age of 30.’
Raising a son in today’s world: ‘I definitely think about how I can help him be the utmost gentleman. I want him to be respectful and intelligent at school but also in life. What it means to be a man is being rewritten right now and I hope my contribution to the world can be raising an amazing boy who turns into an amazing man. I want him to feel that there’s nothing he couldn’t ask or tell me.’
Throughout the interview, Emma has the kind of breezy confidence of someone with unexamined, unearned success which was largely handed to her on a silver platter. I’m sure she believes she’s worked hard for everything she has, and that when she was a kid, she was so incredibly talented, she couldn’t help but get tons of work. But let’s be real: Aunt Julia made all of this happen for her. I don’t even blame Julia – she adores her niece, of course she gave Emma a huge leg up. But lord, this is one of those times when a real education would have made a world of difference.
As for the Anglophile stuff… I don’t even believe her! The stuff about endo, she’s talked about it before, and I do appreciate the fact that celebrity women are coming out more and more to discuss endo.
Cover & IG courtesy of Tatler.
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Beware of the Anglophiles. That’s all I’ll say.
I’m dead ass side eyeing her now.
I kept waiting for her to say- “but that was when I was younger, as I’ve grown, I’ve realized how detrimental a monarchy can be”. Seems like she’s angling for a role as a royal.
Is “fancy and old-fashioned” code for racist, irrelevant, lazy, criminal with a side of cover-up, and a drain on the economy?
Right? The Royals are a PR cover for laziness, ignorance, indolence, colonialism, racism, nepotism and a whole host of other garbage of human culture. People are SUPPOSED to be excited about them – it was a mysterious and glamorous facade to hide a lot of ugliness and cruelty.
“Look at our jewels, our treasures and traditions! Ignore that many of them are stolen from others.”
People talk about the Kardashians but Royals are the original culture vultures.
I think it goes perfectly with what Kaiser said, “Emma has the kind of breezy confidence of someone with unexamined, unearned success which was largely handed to her on a silver platter.”
I mean, what is a better description of English royalty? She’s fascinated because she can see herself in it.
@Lucy perfect summation!
God she’s bland.
Seriously, I know next to nothing about her, but the fact that she is vapid enough to mention that she loved her time in England because of a leather jacket and a coat…yikes. I think we maybe have a candidate for Kate to finally have a friend.
Yeah, shes not that great an actress, so if she moves away from that to a business model similar to Reese’s, that’s not the worst idea. (Although I do think Reese is a good actress.)
As for the anglo-phile stuff – it all seems to be stuff that Tatler wanted to include bc they want people to know that Emma roberts is so jealous of them for their queen and their royals and everyone loves their royals etc. (I notice she used the past tense when she talked about being obsessed with them, lol.)
I thought she was really funny in Scream Queens.
This is exactly what the world needs. Another white girl fantasy about vampires.
That dress seems like one of those that when you wear it, it feels prettier than it actually is. Those sleeves, shoulders are swamping her.
She doesn’t seem that deep. But then again, it’s Tatler and deep isn’t their thing.
Eh…she doesn’t sound so bad here. I mean she didn’t say anything groundbreaking or profound but how many celebrities actually do, really? She sounds like she has matured a lot so that’s good. I definitely believe that her Aunt Julia opened a lot of doors for her but I also seem to recall JR saying in an interview not being thrilled about Emma being pushed into acting as a young child, which I think prompted her to kind of step in and help guide & protect her.
What’s the deal with her dad?
And it sounds like Hedlund is hardly involved at all if her mom is watching the baby on location while Hedlund is… in the wind.
Her dad is a notorious jerk who is not that close to Julia either. He was supposed to be a big star long before Julia (The Coca Cola Kid) but he screwed it up being a jerk and is probably jealous that his little sister blew up so big.
True, but Julia is not exactly kindness personified herself…I think it had more to do with his severe substance issues than a less-than-agreeable personality.
He had a substance abuse problem and that’s why he no longer has a relationship with his daughter. He and Julia reconciled about 15 years ago. I doubt he’s jealous of her success, as he’s worked steadily the entirety of his career.
Tatler is such a vapid and irrelevant magazine. I would be embarrassed to be interviewed by them. I lost all respect for Emily Matlis for doing Tatler.
I think this is how most Americans feel tbh not obsessed with the individual royals themselves but obsessed with the pomp and pageantry and tiaras and toy soldiers etc
Most Americans don’t care, actually.
Regarding her endo, I’m glad it’s finally getting some attention. My niece has it badly, she just had an 11 hour surgery to remove it from her bowels, stomach, uterus and liver. She even needed a mesh on her abdomen because they had to remove some muscle.
She had such terrible cramps for such a long time, and wasn’t taken seriously. We’d take her to emerge, and they’d treat her like she was drug seeking. It’s a very serious condition.
I dont know who she is, but this quote is great:
Raising a son in today’s world: ‘I definitely think about how I can help him be the utmost gentleman. I want him to be respectful and intelligent at school but also in life. What it means to be a man is being rewritten right now and I hope my contribution to the world can be raising an amazing boy who turns into an amazing man. I want him to feel that there’s nothing he couldn’t ask or tell me.’
William, the Incandescent and Elegant is free though,if you love royals. Plus,he would certainly love a glamorous actress wife 😉
You don’t believe she was obsessed with the British royal family – why not? This website is… there isn’t a day that goes by without a story on them.
Maybe because this is the first we’ve heard about it. Usually, “obsessed” people talk a lot about their obsession.
we here are “obsessed” with them like a reality show. basically the Real Housewives of Windsor. it’s “omg, what will they do next?” not “omg, they are so glamorous and traditional and fancy!” apples and oranges.
I’m fascinated with her comments on endometriosis- ironically for me, I had to seek out a MALE OBGYN to have my concerns listened to and get the diagnostic surgery I needed for endometriosis. The other two women gynos I’d gone through before him had all sorts of excuses and gaslighting to make me think the pain I was complaining about was all in my head. Everyone’s experiences are so different, you’d think a woman would’ve listened to me quicker than a man too, but alas.
I like her when she plays her bitchy roles, probably because she’s not acting when she does those. But yeah., she’s no Meryl Streep for sure.
Am more taken with the story headlined on the cover: Dynasty, From Mayfair to Mumbai, Meet the Global Families That are Running Our World. Why don’t they throw in Moscow to make it more accurate? Or does the Mayfair coverage incorporate that?
“Meet the autocrats, kleptocrats and prattling heirs who are turning our world into a flaming orb of war” — nice light fare for a high-end gossip magazine.
That’s too bad about her dad. I loved him in this season of Righteous Gemstones.
I absolutely considered myself an Anglophile until Duchess Meghan first got with Harry and I saw headlines from the UK I never would have thought POSSIBLE in the 21st century. And slowly became aware of rampant racism and UTTERLY backwards attitudes that seems to pervade British society at every level.
But I still LOVE British history, though, and Sharon Kay Penman remains one of my favorite authors. I just don’t love Britain currently.
I saw my British friends’ preoccupation and excitement with the royals and endeavored to observe the younger generation with bemused interest (like, wow this is some long running soap opera this far removed from Henry VIII!). And a lot of the reportage WAS soapy but harmless entertainment (middle class Kaity Waity and Harry’s billiards in Vegas!).
I always knew Diana was an 80s icon who met with a tragic end, but it wasn’t until Meghan joined the fold that their disgusting underbelly was revealed to me. I only watched the season of The Crown that featured Diana and one of the main reasons I did was because of Meghan’s treatment. It really opened my eyes because up until then, I was certain that the Brits were as polite and self-deprecating as the ones I came across (ahem cue the doublespeak bullet points of what they say vs what they mean). The RF went from being harmless fluff to straight up sabateuring villains not so unlike their “off with her head” forefathers.
I’ve never understood this obsession with the royals. I liked Diana, but that was because she was decidedly unroyal and seemed quite set apart from them. This idea that they’re the paragon of refinement and gentility is only that—an idea. The cracks started to show toward the end of Diana’s life, and have shown ever more since, so it always kind of surprises me when people still buy into that carefully constructed image. Especially when they’re close in age to me, as Emma is.