Julia Roberts left heartbroken as she announces tragic family loss
Julia Roberts shared the heartbreaking news of her family dog Myrtle's passing in a touching Instagram post on Friday. The 57 year old Pretty WomaN star, often spotted with the rescue pooch she adopted in 2006, posted an outdoor snap of Myrtle.
In the caption for her 12.8 million followers, she wrote: "Our Myrtle. A Legend. 2006-2025," followed by a crown emoji. Her husband Daniel Moder, whom she married in 2002, also paid a heartfelt tribute to their cherished pet. He posted a picture of Myrtle and wrote, "The definition of Fierce Loyalty, even if she bit the pizza man once. RIP Mytlle...aka Myrtle Von Mertzenberger."
The much-loved canine was no stranger to the limelight, having appeared alongside Roberts in her Chopard Loves Cinema campaign in 2023.
As a global ambassador for the luxury jewellery brand, Julia participated in a 12-episode digital series for the campaign, offering a closer look at her Hollywood life.
Directed by James Gray, the mini short films featured a scene where Myrtle is seen jumping up next to the actress on set. Julia and Myrtle's close bond was also seen in sweet behind-the-scenes moments too. As it was said Julia would 'interrupt her script rehearsal to cuddle her dog that jumps on her lap'.
Fans rushed to the comment sections of Julia and Daniel's posts to share their heartfelt sympathies. One user commented, "Oh no. So sorry for your loss! She was a star in Chopard Loves Cinema! I'm sure she had the best life with your family. Rest easy Myrtle!"
Another shared: "Myrtle, may you take the wonder and acclaim you lived with to the rainbow bridge. You are indelibly etched in hearts forever." A heartbroken fan expressed, "Heartbroken. I love you all," while British editor Edward Enninful chimed in with, "So so sorry for your loss!!!"
Roberts has been an avid supporter of animal welfare, as evidenced by her participation in a fundraiser last December. She teamed up with Be Love Apparel to bring attention to the dog rescue organisation Frankie Lola and Friends. Taking to Instagram, she posted a charming selfie with another one of her beloved dogs, saying: '"It's GIVE BACK TUESDAY!!"
'"I am Thrilled my amazing friends @beloveapparel are donating profits from every 'WE ARE FAMILY' purchase to Frankie Lola and Friends @lisachiarelli An incredible dog rescue organization! Lisa and her team work like crazy to find loving homes for pups in desperate need! What could be better than that!"
This sad news came shortly after Julia celebrated Mother's Day over the weekend, where she was seen in a rare photo with her three children.
The Notting Hill actress is mother to twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, 20, and son Henry, 17, whom she shares with husband Daniel. He shared a touching photograph of Roberts posing with their offspring. Outside, basking in the delightful sunshine, Moder shared an adorable photo with the caption: "Mothers make the coolest stuff. Love these guys."
In a candid 2023 chat with Today, Julia Roberts spoke warmly about parenting her grown-up kids, saying, "I parent them the same way out of the house that I parented them in the house, which is, you know, 'Are you getting enough sleep?'" She also asked, "And 'You sound like you're sick.'"
"And 'Are you drinking tea?' And 'Text me when you get home you get home (so) I can see that you're home safe and sound.'"
Julia expressed: "And I have an immense amount of appreciation for both of my older kids because they still allow me to be the same mom to them and it's not eye-rolling and there's a huge amount of understanding."
Delving into family anecdotes, Roberts also told Extra about how daughter Hazel raids her wardrobe, although their jewellery tastes differ, "She's more bohemian in her aesthetic."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
21 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
What did Trump say about Sydney Sweeney/American Eagle backlash?
"Sydney Sweeney, an actress was in an ad for blue jeans. The ad is doing very well, it's very popular. The jeans have sold out. Does America need to see more ads like that and maybe fewer ads with people like Dylan Mulvaney on the cover?" Finnerty asked, referring to the controversial 2023 Bud Light campaign starring the transgender TikTok star which elicited criticism from certain groups. Trump addresses Diddy pardon decision, but questions remain Trump said that "advertising's a very funny thing," telling Finnerty that "I've done ads where I thought they were lousy, and they turned out to be iconic. And then I've done some that I thought were beauties that were going to be fantastic and they weren't so good, so to each his own." Before addressing his thoughts on advertising, Trump told the conservative cable host earlier in the interview that "I think the Dylan Mulvaney ad was perhaps the most unsuccessful ad in history. It knocked $35 billion off the value of a certain company if you know what I'm talking about." Trump continued: "(The Mulvaney ad) was one of the great disasters of all time. I would say that's probably the most unsuccessful ad, worst ad ever." It is unclear what exact $35 billion valuation the president is talking about, but sales for Bud Light - owned by Anheuser-Busch - tanked after the backlash began. American Eagle breaks silence on Sydney Sweeney jeans ad controversy Why is the 'Sydney Sweeney has great jeans' ad sparking backlash? The Sweeney ad has been the subject of both online praise and anger for over a week. On July 23, the brand launched the new campaign starring Sweeney, which American Eagle originally described as "a return to essential denim dressing," with Sweeney sporting 1970s-style flare jeans paired with a denim jacket. In one of several videos for the campaign, Sweeney, clad in a denim-on-denim fit, dabbles in some word-play, telling cameras: "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color." "My jeans are blue," Sweeney said in the video. Each promotional video ends with the tagline, "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans." The Trump comments aired the same day that American Eagle broke its silence on the backlash and doubled down in an Instagram post following days of discourse about the Sweeney ad blitz. "'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans' is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way," the statement read. "Great jeans look good on everyone." Contributing: Anna Kaufman, Nicole Fallert
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Dua Lipa ‘feeling grateful' after being awarded Kosovo citizenship
The 29-year-old was born in London to Kosovo-Albanian parents, Anesa and Dukagjin Lipa, and moved to the country's capital of Pristina aged 11, when her family returned after Kosovo gained its independence in 2008, before moving back to London aged 15. In a post on Instagram, Lipa said: 'Feeling so grateful to have been awarded my Kosovan citizenship by our president @vjosaosmani.' A post shared by Vjosa Osmani (@ Kosovo's president, Vjosa Osmani, posted a picture of herself presenting a certificate of citizenship to the Houdini singer with a caption saying 'welcome home Dua'. She added: 'Special honour that today, by presidential decree, to grant citizenship of the Republic of Kosovo to Dua Lipa, one of the most important cultural and artistic personalities in the history of our country. 'Dua and Kosovo have always been inseparable. She has been and continues to be one of the most powerful voices on the world's biggest stages, making history with her achievements and becoming an inspiration to millions of people around the globe. A post shared by DUA LIPA (@dualipa) 'Our gratitude is endless for all that Dua has done and continues to do for Kosovo, for our youth, for our art and for the international image of our country. 'Dua, Kosovo is always proud of you.' At her initiation ceremony, Lipa was welcomed by a group of children dressed in white singing her 2020 UK hit single Levitating. In a statement, Lipa added: 'Every time I come back to Kosovo, it always feels like coming home. 'Receiving citizenship from president Osmani is such an honour and feels like my two sides are now one. 'It completes the duality I have always had within. I love this country and this means so much to me and my family.' Our pride, our voice to the world, Kosovo's gem — welcome back home, @DUALIPA! — Vjosa Osmani (@VjosaOsmaniPRKS) August 1, 2025 It comes after the singer appeared at the country's Sunny Hill Festival, which she created in 2018, on Friday, where she performed the song Era with her father in Albanian. She said of the performance in a post on X: 'Sharing this night with you all, in the city that shaped me, surrounded by so much energy, joy, and pride… it's hard to put into words what it means. 'Performing for you, and sharing the stage with my dad @dukagjinlipa was a moment I'll never forget. 'I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful, and we still have two more nights to celebrate together.' In November 2022, the singer was granted Albanian citizenship by its president Bajram Begaj. Since beginning her career in 2013, Lipa has had four UK number one singles and two UK number one albums, she is best known for songs such as Training Season, New Rules and One Kiss, which she recorded with DJ Calvin Harris.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
I found Sarah Vine's book unexpectedly heart-wrenching
If you were an aspiring politician seeking to annexe a seat anywhere south of Liverpool (and you'd be amazed how many Scots have done so) then be conversant with this woman's weekly chronicles. When I met her to discuss her book amidst the streets that form her Kensington hunting grounds, she'd written that day about the kitchen psycho-drama of Prince Harry's fractured (and probably irredeemable) relationship with his father, King Charles. In Scotland, we who fancy ourselves to be above these royal tribulations, dismiss them and cite them as evidence in the case against the Union. In England though, and most especially in working-class neighbourhoods, the Windsors' bizarre rituals are Shakespearian. They take sides and cheer on their champions from this cursed House. Read more Kevin McKenna: It's not long though – just a few pages, really – until (horror of horrors) you find yourself emotionally captured by her story of being married to the former Tory cabinet minister, Michael Gove. And how a once happy union was chiselled out by Brexit and by the class structure that still exists at the top of the Tories on which they spend a lot of money and time to conceal from the rest of us. You begin investing in this story about how Westminster's political thresher (and maybe Holyrood's too) can steal your soul if you're foolish enough to believe you can surf it and remain upright. It's also about surviving as a woman amidst the casual sexism that still pervades my industry and the outright misogyny that runs through Big Politics. There are startling moments, not least an egregiously misogynistic insult aimed at her by the comedian, Stewart Lee, in his Observer column. 'As a student, David Cameron is rumoured to have put his penis into a dead pig. To outdo him, Michael Gove put his penis into a Daily Mail journalist.' On a family trip to New York, they're spotted by another British couple. Not even the presence of their two children – 10 and 12 – spares them. 'W****** like you shouldn't be allowed to have children,' shouted the woman. 'The point I was trying to make, is one about the one process of dehumanisation,' she tells me. 'They don't see you as a person. I write for the Daily Mail and I was married to a Tory. So the normal rules of decency are suspended.' Vine admires current Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch (Image: Stefan Rousseau) She admires the current Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch. 'She's got the balls to do it; she's got the appetite and is feisty and she has a vision and isn't afraid to ram it home. We're told that one dog year equals seven human years. It's the same with politicians.' She's right, of course. Politicians seem to age before our eyes in the term of a single parliament. Ms Vine's story – even without the politics and the tiaras – is a compelling one. Of a girl living in Italy where her affluent parents had moved to embrace la dolce vita amidst their extra-marital affairs and the tantrums that followed them and who felt like an ugly duckling in a school full of young Mediterranean beauties. Of being psychologically abused by her dad, who seemed embarrassed at his daughter's physical appearance (she still frets about her weight and discusses her alopecia and her anti-depressants). One entry leaves you shredded. It's when, as a teenager, she returns to Italy for the summer from boarding school in England where she'd starved herself into something approaching svelte. Her dad now felt she was fit enough for him to be seen in public with her in Italian café society, at one point instructing her 'to wiggle for a table'. I found this heart-wrenching to the extent that I immediately resolved to call my own two daughters and just, you know, be closer to them. What things were said and unsaid; how many were the hugs not given? She tells me that the stuff about her dad needed to be in there 'to explain who I am and what I am and why I'm so flawed'. She'd sent the book to her brother. 'Is this okay? You were there too; you remember all that stuff.' He'd called and said: 'Sarah, honestly, you've been far too nice.' She had called her dad to tell him there was material in the book he may find uncomfortable. 'He said 'Oh alright then, and went back to watching the telly'.' Back to England then and university (languages) and falling into journalism after a fateful encounter with some of Fleet Street's finest in one of their taverns. And then meeting Michael Gove on a skiing trip with the nucleus of what would later be called 'the Notting Hill Set': There's a perception among Scottish journalists that the old English newspaper titles are populated by the scions of old families who weren't considered smart enough for high political office and thus favours had to be called in. Ms Vine though, is a proper old-school journalist who has held down most jobs in the gnarly business of producing newsprint. There's no question of her not having earned her position. I was once asked what had made the Mail so popular across all classes in England. The best I could come up with was that they represented the Margo Leadbetter character in The Good Life. In one episode, she's in a long Post Office queue being truculently fobbed off at the counter. 'I am the voice of the Silent Majority,' she'd said. Margo seemed to embody those English stereotypes we both love and hate: of enduring challenges with stalwart resilience because, well … being English obliges you to care without showing it; to be silent in adversity, confident perhaps that you'll have your moment and that it will be a terrible one indeed. I love them for it and loathe them in equal measure. Perhaps though, it's that early Italian influence on Ms Vine that enkindled her desire in this book to settle a few scores; to chivvy those who were inconstant or who disappeared when she was deemed no longer to possess a social cachet. It's not revenge, as such, more an abjuration that they should perhaps have known that this day would come when the smart, sassy columnist – the Wednesday Witch in Daily Mail parlance – would strap on her stilettoes and have her day in long form with one of Britain's top publishers. The inside story of Brexit and how it laid waste to relationships and brought families to the brink of breaking up is a dominant theme. Did it wreck her own – happy – marriage to Michael Gove who is now out of politics entirely? Or, would they still have split? Would he always have been drawn like a moth to the flame of politics; while she with her daily, acerbic registers refused to adopt the role of dutiful Tory wife bred to endure and to absorb and to be silent? In the end it wasn't a clash of personalities, or infidelity or excessive drinking; or abnormal behaviour which sealed the split, but the sight of her husband choosing to absent himself with a book in the upstairs bedroom of their new home while she and her elderly mum (who had flown from Italy to help with the flitting) did all the heavy lifting. Before then, a sense of isolation had begun to settle on them both. The gradual, wretched realisation that for all their brains and unprivileged endeavour; for their wit and charisma, they'd never quite been accepted within their set. And that, when the chips were down and the balloon was up and the lights had gone out, a process of social exclusion by stealth was well underway. They had committed the cardinal sin of failing to acknowledge their place in the grand scheme: deference to the upper classes of High Toryism. To the naked, unschooled eye, they were both at the very apex of England's social, political and cultural food chain. But when Michael Gove had defied his friend, David Cameron, by becoming a chief Brexiteer and Sarah Vine had backed him they were brutally disabused of any notions about parity of esteem. Read more Kevin McKenna: In these circles, your status is conferred for eternity by the title deeds of 13th century land-grabs. They were best of friends with David and Samantha Cameron and Ms Vine had been Godmother to their daughter. When you step outside the role laid down for you though – absolute obeisance – you get voided. The book though, also slakes your appetite for dinner party capers among the horsey set and names are dropped like confetti. It's all rather glorious and we're treated to occasional forays into the inter-marital houghmagandie of the upper crust, because, we all know that the High Tories are all fond of their shagging and probably still claim a bit of your 'droit de seigneur' This is most memorably narrated when a bright and loyal Tory adviser, is hinted to be conducting an affair with Samantha Cameron's stepfather, William Astor. This unravelled in what seemed a most cut-glass, English manner. There were no names and no big red-top screamer … just an unmarked entry by the Mail's kenspeckle diarist, Richard Kay hinting at a tryst. And lo, she was gone and never heard of again, while the old goat emerged relatively unscathed. It's here that I must offer some words of advice to Ms Vine. If her book makes it into paperback and thence into a Netflix adaptation (virtually guaranteed) please be rid of the cover on this hardback edition. It's dreadful and exceedingly low-calibre, showing a woman lying fully prone and face down. It channels an energy that's entirely at odds with the dynamics of Ms Vine's rise, fall and recovery. How Not to be a Political Wife: HarperCollins £20
