Martin Luther King Jr. Paid The Hospital Bill When Julia Roberts Was Born

There’s a good reason that Julia Roberts' September interview with Gayle King is going viral right now. During the interview for A+E Networks and History Channel's HISTORYTalk, Gayle pressed the A-lister about a little-known story from the first hours of her life. And what came out is shocking.

"Let's start with the day you were born — who paid for the hospital bill?" Gayle asked the Oscar-winning actress.

Roberts appeared surprised and perhaps a little embarrassed by the question.

“The King family,” she answered bashfully. “Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta.” 

"Obviously, because my parents couldn't pay for the hospital," Roberts, who was born in Smyrna, Georgia, in 1967, added. She went on to explain that at the time her parents ran a theater school in Atlanta called the Actors and Writers Workshop.

"And one day Coretta Scott King called my mother and asked if her kids could be part of the school, 'cause they were having a hard time finding a place that would accept her kids, and my mom was like, 'Sure come on over,' " Roberts said. "And so they all just became friends and they helped us out of a jam."

Bernice King, the youngest daughter of the civil rights icons, tweeted that she was grateful to Roberts for sharing the story and that so many people were awed by it.

"I know the story well," she wrote, "but it is moving for me to be reminded of my parents' generosity and influence."

How cool is that?