Julia Roberts has revealed Martin Luther King Jr and his wife Coretta Scott King helped her family pay the hospital bills racked up because of her birth.
The actress confirmed her parents had befriended the couple while they were living in Atlanta and running a theatre school prior to her birth.
As bills spiralled, the Kings stepped up and offered to pay the hospital bills for their pals to try to "help them out of a jam".
The Pretty Woman star, 55, was speaking to Gayle King and explained what happened. She said: "One day Coretta called my mother and asked if her kids could be part of the school because they were having a hard time finding a place that would accept her kids," referring to segregation in the 1960s.
She continued: "My mom was like, ‘Sure, come on over,’ and so they all just became friends, and they helped us out of a jam."
After the revelation, journalist Gayle called the decision by Julia's parents to let the Kings' kids join the school as "extraordinary" because, at the time, "little black children interacting with little white kids in acting school" didn't happen.
And the pair both agreed that it was perhaps thanks to that selfless act by her parents that helped to "lay the ground work" for the person Julia is today.
The Ticket to Paradise star recently turned 55 and took to Instagram to share the celebration with her 10.3 million followers. On Friday, she uploaded a snap of herself in brown glasses enjoying a mug of what looked to be coffee while she was surrounded by red, pink and gold balloons.
She captioned the snap: "Feeling the love and magic on my 55th Birthday ! My cup runneth over"
The upload received over 320,000 likes, including from stars such as Jennifer Aniston and Gemma Collins. Among those leaving comments - although Julia had limited who could reply - was Nottingham Forest footballer Jesse Lingard.
Sleepless in Seattle actress Rita Wilson also wrote: "Happiest of days Scorpio sistah! Sending you love love love."
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