When Martin Luther King Jr. and wife Coretta Scott King paid hospital bill for Julia Roberts' birth

Julia Roberts has cemented her place in Hollywood by delivering outstanding performances in movies like "Eat, Pray, Love," "Pretty Woman," "Notting Hill" and others. Recently, an interesting story about the Oscar-winning actress having a connection that goes way back with Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King resurfaced on the internet. In an old interview, Roberts is seen revealing that Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife paid the hospital bills for her birth in 1967.

The actress made the revelation in an interview with Gayle King, as per PEOPLE. The interview clip has been doing the rounds on the internet and it all starts when the interviewer asks the actor, "I’ll bet most people don’t know this about you ... let’s start with the day you were born. Who paid for the hospital bill?" In response to the question, Roberts briefly compliments Gayle for her research skills with a smile as she says, "Her research is very good." Addressing her and the audience, Roberts continues, "The King family paid for my bills." To which the interviewer questions, "Why did they do that?" Roberts responded by saying, "Obviously because my parents couldn’t pay for the hospital bill."

As the interview progresses, Roberts explains how both families had a connection before her birth. She says that her parents owned an Atlanta theater school called the Actors and Writers Workshop. It was Coretta Scott King who called Roberts’ mom and asked about her children joining the school because the Kings were having trouble finding a school to accept them in Atlanta. Roberts went on to indicate that her mother did not hesitate before accepting King's children and had readily said, "Sure, come on over." And so, they just all became friends. "They helped us out of a jam," said Roberts.

In the 1960s, Gayle pointed out that it was not common for Black children to interact or even attend the same schools, let alone acting schools, as white children. Paying for Betty Lou Bredemus and Walter Grady Roberts' hospital bill may have been a way in which the Kings thanked the family for their kindness. The clip ends with Gayle appreciating Roberts' parents, "I think that's extraordinary, and it sort of lays the groundwork for who you are."

Eight months after Roberts' birth in October 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. Upon the release of the interview clip on the internet, Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King Jr., retweeted the interview and thanked Roberts for sharing the story. She wrote, "I know the story well, but it is moving for me to be reminded of my parents’ generosity and influence."