Julia Roberts was at the Oscars on Sunday, marking her first public appearance since her sister’s suicide less than a month ago. Nancy Motes died February 9th. A suicide note and drugs–both prescription and non-prescription–were found at the scene.
Roberts looked lovely–sporting both Givenchy and Bulgari. The actress was upbeat and even funny at times despite her recent loss–as well as the fact that she didn’t win an Oscar for her role in August: Osage County. She sat directly behind lead actress Meryl Streep, who also lost out at the Academy Awards, and occasionally tapped her costar on the shoulder when a clip from the film was played.
Julia even appeared in Ellen DeGeneres’s now famous Twitter photo taken during the Oscars, using her height to her advantage in order to appear in the back of the photo frame.
If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014
Chatting with the media during the pre-Oscars show, Julia Roberts recalled one of the first times she appeared at the Academy Awards.
“I presented one year, I wore a deeply unfortunate palette,” she said.
Julia Roberts’s sister was a production assistant who worked in Hollywood. Her family issued a public statement following her untimely death.
“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,” the statement read.
Lots of rumors have circulated about the relationship between Motes and Roberts, with many of them saying Nancy Motes was jealous of her sister’s fame. She was noted for having left several cryptic messages and angry tweets about and directed at her family prior to her death. Nancy’s fiance, John Dilbeck, issued his own statement following her death, explaining his version of her tweets and messages.
“We loved her dearly and will miss her always. Please know that the words she wrote in online venues were those of someone in pain who loved her family and longed for a closer bond with them.”
It’s a bit uncertain if his statement was meant to ease the hearts and minds of her grieving family or to sink the knife in a bit deeper.
Julia Roberts cancelled all of her public appearances when Nancy Motes died. The Oscars is the first she is known to have attended since the tragedy.
Image via YouTube