Julia Roberts' Half-Sister Nancy Motes Found Dead, Overdose Suspected
Julia Roberts' half-sister, Nancy Motes, was found dead in Los Angeles on Sunday of what is being reported as a possible drug overdose.
On Monday, the Roberts family issued a statement regarding the sad news.
"It is with deep sadness that the family of Nancy Motes ... confirms that she was found dead in Los Angeles yesterday of an apparent drug overdose," their statement read. "There is no official report from the Coroner's office yet. The family is both shocked and devastated."
Motes was the younger sister of Julia Roberts and fellow actor Eric Roberts and reportedly didn't have the best relationship with her.
In Aug. 2013, Motes opened up about her struggles with weight to the New York Daily News, claiming that her A-list sister teased her for years.
“When I was in high school and she was an adult, she would just let me know that I was definitely overweight,” Motes said at the time. “She would make it quite clear to me and in a not-so-nice a manner. It just makes me feel incredibly hurt and very sad."
Because of the taunting, Motes, who once tipped the scales at 300 pounds, opted to undergo gastric bypass surgery in June of 2010. After the procedure, Motes slimmed down to just 155 pounds and hoped to get her strained relationship with Roberts back on track.
“I think we’re both trying to change our opinions of each other,” Motes said. “It’s a work in progress. It’s not going to be fixed overnight, nor do I think it’s going to be fixed at this point by me just getting skinny.”
Eventually, the half-sisters appeared to reconcile and Roberts later helped her get a job in Los Angeles as a production assistant on the hit TV show, Glee. Unfortunately, after making the move from Georgia, Motes reportedly fell into a deep depression and her weight ballooned to 289 pounds.
Motes was planning to wed her fiance John Dilbeck, a film and TV locations manager, in spring of this year.