Julia Roberts, the famous Hollywood actress, likes to keep her personal life, especially her three kids, out of the spotlight. She and her husband welcomed twins Hazel and Phinnaeus in 2004. Three years later, their son Henry was born. Though they are quite private, Julia and Daniel Moder sometimes share small glimpses of their family life with fans. This time, many fans couldn’t help but notice a particular detail about Hazel’s appearance.
Hazel made her red carpet debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021.
Julia Roberts’s 19-year-old daughter Hazel is stepping into the spotlight just like her mom. In 2021, she joined her dad, Daniel Moder, at the premiere of Flag Day. It’s a drama directed by and starring Sean Penn, which also features his daughter, Dylan Frances Penn, in a lead role. Daniel Moder served as the film’s cinematographer, and his daughter decided to support him on the red carpet.
At the premiere, Hazel shined in a long yellow button-up dress paired with black Mary-Jane shoes, while her dad looked sharp in a classic black suit.
Fans couldn’t help but notice a particular detail about Hazel.
Fans noticed how much Hazel resembles her mom, Julia Roberts.
With her radiant smile and striking features, Hazel looks like a younger version of the famous actress. Many pointed out the uncanny resemblance, noting that Hazel has clearly inherited her mom’s charm and elegance.
Roberts is raising her kids to have less reliance on technology.
Julia Roberts has always been protective of her children’s privacy, rarely posting pictures of them on social media. She values real-life connections with her family, away from phones and technology. In her house, one rule is to put phones away, especially during meals. “We just had sort of simple rules where we had a charging station where everyone’s phones go when you get home. There’s no phones at the table,” Julia shared in 2023.
In the interview, she said that being at home “with kids and no devices” actually “sounds like a good time” to her. Julia explained that she raised her kids to not be overly dependent on technology, reminiscing about the days “when you couldn’t get ahold of people, or they couldn’t get ahold of you.”
“I think of a family coming together at the end of the day, and you actually have things to talk about at dinner because you haven’t been in contact all day long a hundred times or a busy signal,” she said.
The actress is a proud mom of college students.
Hazel and Phinnaeus are both in college now, and Julia Roberts couldn’t be prouder. “It’s really thrilling, and I wasn’t lucky enough to have a college experience. So to see how it’s happening for them is really fascinating. And yeah, I’m just, I’m excited for them,” she opened up.
On a December 2023 episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Julia shared that supporting her kids’ colleges has become a big part of her life, “You become immediately like, ’This is my entire life.’ I wear the colors, I do the whole thing.”
When Jimmy Fallon asked if her youngest son, Henry, was sad to be the only child left at home, Julia replied that while Henry missed his siblings, he also enjoyed being the sole kid at home, “I think it’s a good 50/50 split. He’s loving it. And I think he misses his people.”
She’s still a hands-on mom even though her kids are older.
Julia Roberts continues to be a hands-on mom. On the Today show, she expressed her gratitude for the ongoing involvement she has in their lives. “I parent them the same way out of the house that I parented them in the house,” the actress opened up. “Which is ’Are you getting enough sleep? You sound like you’re sick, are you drinking enough tea? Text me when you get home. I can see that you’re home safe and sound,’” Julia explained.
She continued, “And I have an immense amount of appreciation for both of my older kids because they still allow me to be the same mom to them, and it’s not eye-rolling. There’s a huge amount of understanding.”
Despite her busy schedule and the distance between them due to college, they stay connected through group calls.
She is grateful for finding work-life balance.
Julia has always valued finding a balance between work and family, and she’s grateful that she can often put her kids first. In an interview with British Vogue in 2024, Julia reflected on how achieving success early in her career allowed her to prioritize her family when her children were younger.
“I think that the luckiest aspect of my work life/family life is that the success of my work life came earlier. So by the time I had the success of my family life and had a husband and children who wanted to stay at home, I had been working for 18 years,” she said.
Julia expressed her deep gratitude for being able to pause work life to nurture her home life.
“I never force my son to say SORRY and THANK YOU — it could psychologically traumatize him,” a reader wrote to Bright Side to share her unique parenting style and to seek advice from other parents. She often faces criticism about her methods of upbringing and wants to know if other parents have had similar experiences.
Impoverished Boy Assisted an Elderly Man in Achieving His Dream, Unaware His Own Life Would Transform the Following Day
I thought I was just going fishing with an old man I’d met by chance, but the letter I received months later revealed a secret that would leave me forever changed—and with a gift that would fulfill my wildest dreams.
Living in an old trailer wasn’t as bad as it sounds, or at least that’s what I told myself. It was just me and Mom. We’ve been on our own since Dad left when I was six. Honestly, I barely remember him, but Mom… well, she never says much about him. We don’t talk about it.
“Adam, can you grab the mail?” Mom would call out from the couch. Her legs were often propped up on a pillow, and she winced with every movement. She’d been in a car accident years ago, and her limp made standing or walking for long periods difficult. Still, she worked long shifts at the gas station just to keep us afloat.
“Sure, Mom,” I would reply grabbing my coat. I didn’t mind doing the little things to help. It made me feel like I was making a difference, even if it was just fetching mail or fixing dinner.
Most days after school, I would find something to do outside the trailer—anything to take my mind off things. But little did I know that at the age of 13, my life would change.
That day, I was tossing an old, deflated soccer ball at some bottles I’d set up like bowling pins. It wasn’t much, but it helped pass the time.
Then, out of nowhere, this shiny black SUV rolled up next to the trailer. The windows were tinted, and I stared at it for a second, wondering who on earth would come around here in something that fancy.
The door creaked open, and out stepped this old man, probably in his 70s or 80s, leaning on a cane but with a warm smile on his face. He waved.
“Hey there,” he said, slowly walking over. “Mind if I take a shot?” He pointed at the bottles I had lined up.
I blinked. “Uh, sure, I guess,” I said, not really sure what to make of him.
He chuckled. “Tell you what, let’s make it interesting. If I get a strike, I’ll ask you for a favor, and you can’t say no. But if I miss, I’ll hand you a hundred bucks. Deal?”
My eyes practically popped out of my head. A hundred bucks? I could almost hear the register in my brain ringing. “Deal,” I said quickly.
The man leaned down, picked up the deflated ball, and with a flick of his wrist, tossed it. The thing rolled straight into the bottles, knocking every last one down. I stood there, jaw dropped. No way.
The old man laughed, clearly pleased with himself. “Looks like I won,” he said. “Now, for that favor.”
I swallowed, curious. “What do you want me to do?”
“Come fishing with me tomorrow at the old pond,” he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Fishing?” I scratched my head. That was it? Seemed like a strange request, but definitely not as bad as I thought it would be. “Uh, okay, I guess. Let me just ask my mom.”
He smiled and nodded. “I’ll wait.”
I jogged back into the trailer, opening the door quietly. Mom was asleep on the couch, her chest rising and falling slowly. She’d had a long shift at the gas station the night before, and I didn’t want to wake her. I stood there for a moment, biting my lip.
“She won’t even know,” I muttered to myself. “I’ll be back before she notices.”
Decision made, I tiptoed back outside. “Alright, I’ll go,” I told the old man, hoping I wasn’t making a mistake.
“Great,” he said, smiling even wider. “We’ll meet tomorrow at dawn. Don’t be late.”
The next morning, the old man picked me up bright and early in his black SUV. We drove in silence at first, heading out of town. The place looked like no one had been there in years, the water was still, with tall grass growing around it. There wasn’t a single person in sight.
“Why here?” I asked, looking around as I grabbed the fishing rods he’d brought.
The old man smiled softly as he set up the gear. “This place… it means a lot to me,” he said, his voice quieter than usual.
We cast our lines into the water and sat side by side. We didn’t talk much for a while. But after about an hour, with no bites on the line, I couldn’t help but ask.
“So… why did you want to come here to fish?” I asked, curious.
The old man glanced at me, his smile tinged with sadness. “Years ago, I used to come here with my son. He was about your age then.” His voice softened even more.
“We were poor, just like you and your mother. Didn’t have much, but we always found time to come here. Funny thing is, we never caught a single fish, no matter how hard we tried.”
I looked at him. “Where’s your son now?”
He was quiet for a long moment, staring out at the water. I noticed his eyes filled with tears.
“He’s gone,” the old man finally said, his voice heavy. “He got sick. The doctors said he needed an urgent operation, but I didn’t have the money. I couldn’t save him.”
I felt my chest tighten. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head, blinking back tears. “That’s when I promised myself I’d never be in that position again. I worked, I hustled, I built myself up so I’d never feel that helpless. But… I never had another child.”
I didn’t know what to say at first, but something inside me knew what he needed to hear. I stood up, walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Your son’s watching you from heaven,” I said softly. “And one day, he’ll see you catch that fish. You just can’t give up.”
He smiled at me, tears still in his eyes. “Thank you, Adam. You remind me so much of him.”
Just then, the float on one of our rods dipped suddenly into the water.
“Hey, the float!” I yelled.
The old man’s eyes widened, and we both grabbed the rod at the same time, pulling hard. But as we yanked, we both lost our balance, tumbling into the pond with a loud splash. I gasped as the cold water hit me, and the old man surfaced beside me, laughing like he hadn’t in years.
“Well, this is one way to catch a fish!” he cackled, struggling to hold onto the rod while I helped pull him up.
We finally managed to drag the rod back to shore, and to our surprise, attached to the end was the biggest fish I’d ever seen. The old man jumped to his feet, soaking wet but grinning like a kid.
“We did it!” he shouted, throwing his hands up in triumph. “We actually caught one!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, watching him dance around like he’d just won the lottery. We were soaked to the bone, but in that moment, it didn’t matter.
Later, he drove me back to the trailer. As we pulled up, he turned to me, his face soft and filled with gratitude.
“Thank you, Adam,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “Today meant more to me than you’ll ever know.”
I smiled back. “Thanks for taking me fishing. It was fun.”
He reached out and patted my shoulder, a tear sliding down his cheek. “Take care, son. And don’t give up on those dreams.”
With that, he drove off, leaving me standing there with a strange warmth in my chest.
The next day, there was a knock on our trailer door. I opened it to see a man in a suit standing there, holding a package.
“Adam?” he asked.
“Yeah, that’s me,” I said, eyeing the man suspiciously.
“I’m Mr. Johnson, Mr. Thompson’s assistant. He asked me to deliver this to you,” he said, handing over the package.
I opened it right there on the spot and inside was more money than I’d ever seen in my life. My jaw dropped. “W-what is this for?”
Mr. Johnson smiled kindly. “It’s for you and your mother. Enough to move into a proper house, and for her medical care—rehabilitation, so she can walk without pain. There’s also a provision for private tutors to help you prepare for college. Your education, including one of the best colleges in the country, will be fully covered.”
I couldn’t believe it. My head spun as I tried to process what he was saying. “But… why?”
“Mr. Thompson was very moved by you, Adam. He sees a lot of his own son in you. This is his way of saying thank you.”
Tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded, overwhelmed by the kindness of a man who had once been a stranger but had now changed our lives forever.
Several months passed since that fishing trip. One afternoon, I came home to find a letter on the table, addressed to me. I recognized the handwriting instantly. My hands shook as I opened it.
“If you’re reading this,” the letter began, “then I’m already watching you from heaven with my son.”
I stopped, swallowing hard, and read on.
“The day after we went fishing, I had heart surgery. I didn’t survive, but that’s okay. Meeting you gave me more peace than I ever thought possible. You reminded me of my son and showed me there’s still joy in life, even after loss.
I’ve left you everything you need to succeed. Remember what you told me that day by the pond? You’ll catch that fish too—just don’t give up, right?”
I wiped a tear from my cheek, staring at the words. I could almost hear his voice again, and see him smiling next to me by the water.
Fifteen years later, I stood on the porch of the house I built for Mom, watching her laugh with my kids in the yard.
“You never gave up, Adam,” she said, catching my eye with a smile. “He’d be proud.”
“I think about him a lot,” I admitted, my voice soft. “I hope I’ve made him proud.”
“You have,” she said gently. “He gave you everything, and look at you now.”
I smiled, glancing at my own home next door. “It wasn’t just the money, Mom. It was the reminder to never give up. I’ll carry that with me forever.”
She squeezed my hand. “And he’s watching. I know it.”
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