Who Is Julia Roberts Married To? Inside Her Private 20-Year Marriage

Julia Roberts has been a household name for decades since the then-20-year-old actress broke out in the 1998 coming-of-age movie Mystic Pizza. The Pretty Woman star has stayed booked and busy since, most recently starring in 2023’s Leave The World Behind, and she’s constantly shutting down the red carpet with her head-turning “shoes optional” outfits and 100-carat diamond accessories. However, when it comes to her personal life, especially her marriage and family, Roberts makes an extra effort to stay out of the spotlight.

After all, the Erin Brokovitch actress faced constant media speculation when she famously dated fellow actors Liam Neeson, Dylan McDermott, Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, and Benjamin Bratt. Roberts was also briefly married to country singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett, getting engaged just three weeks after they went on their first date in June 1993. The pair had a “ridiculously amicable” split two years later in March 1995, with Roberts labeling her decision to tie the knot as a "miscalculation” rather than a mistake in an interview with the New York Daily News.

Just a few years later, she met the cinematographer who’d become her “forever valentine” and the father of her three kids.

He's a Cinemetographer and They Met on Set 

Roberts met her husband Daniel Moder in 2000 when he was working as a cameraman on the set of The Mexican. At the time, they started their relationship as friends as Roberts was still dating Bratt and Moder was married to makeup artist Vera Steimberg. In a December 2003 interview with O Magazine, Roberts opened up about what they had to do before taking their relationship to a romantic level. 

“He sorted his whole thing out, separate and apart from me, and I sorted my life out, separate from him,” she told Oprah. “I think that’s the only reason we were able to ultimately fall in love with each other and be together.”

The couple tied the knot in July 2002 at Roberts’ ranch in New Mexico, a decision that the actress called a “seismic shift” in her life.

“Getting married to Danny… was the first, like, my life will never be the same in the most incredible, indescribable way,” she told Gwyneth Paltrow in a 2018 Goop podcast interview. “The best decision I ever made in my entire life was to hitch my wagon to Danny Moder."

Roberts and Moder have been married 22 years, and they share 19-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, as well as their 16-year-old son, Henry. 

They've Worked Together on Several Movies

The American cinematographer has worked with Roberts on a number of films, including Secret In Their Eyes, Fireflies In The Garden, and The Normal Heart. Moder was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding cinematography for a miniseries or movie for The Normal Heart, which covers the 1980s HIV-AIDS crisis.

While the couple have kept their marriage largely private over the years, except for the rare birthday or anniversary tribute, Roberts has credited "lots of making out" for keeping their spark alive over the years. She most recently gushed about her longtime partner in a January 2024 interview with British Vogue. 

After joking that she owed her youthfulness to sticking her head in a pickle jar, the actress got sentimental, revealing that she credits her husband for making her so happy. 

"Good genes, leading a life that is fulfilling, and I have said this — and I say it usually as kind of a joke — but I do believe in the love of a good man," Roberts said. "I believe that my husband loves me and cares for me in a way that makes me feel deeply, deeply happy. And anytime you see someone who’s happy, it doesn’t matter how old they are."