2001–2010: Beginnings, from child star to teen idol Roberts made her acting debut at age nine in
Ted Demme's 2001 drama film
Blow. It was the first film for which she auditioned. Roberts went on to appear in smaller roles in two family films: in 2002's
Grand Champion, as the sister of the main character Buddy (Jacob Fisher); and in 2006's
Spymate, as the daughter of former
secret agent Mike Muggins (
Chris Potter), who tries to rescue her with the help of a spy monkey.
Grand Champion had a brief theatrical release in August 2004, while
Spymate was not released until February 2006, when it was given a theatrical run in Canada, followed by its DVD release in April 2006. s in 2008 In 2004, she began starring as the lead character Addie Singer in the
Nickelodeon sitcom
Unfabulous, which debuted in September of that year. The sitcom earned Roberts several
Teen Choice Award and
Young Artist Award nominations. The series focused on a seventh grader, Addie, and her two best friends. It aired for three seasons (2004–2007). The show also spawned several television films, including
The Perfect Moment. Also in 2004 at age 13, Roberts
guest starred in an episode of the Nickelodeon series
Drake & Josh titled "Honor Council". After her run on
Unfabulous, Nickelodeon had considered giving Roberts a kick start into a music career. In 2005, Roberts released a debut album titled
Unfabulous and More. The album was released on September 27, 2005, through
Columbia Records and
Nick Records. It also served as the soundtrack to the television series
Unfabulous, in which Roberts starred. The album peaked at number 46 and 10 on
Billboard Heatseekers Albums and
Kid Albums charts, respectively. In September 2005, two singles were released from the album: "I Wanna Be" and "Dummy". The album includes several original songs (among them "Dummy" and "I Wanna Be", both of which were also released as music videos, "I Have Arrived" and "This Is Me", which was co-written by Roberts), as well as some of Addie's songs from the first season, including "Punch Rocker" and "New Shoes" (both from the episode "The Party"), "94 Weeks (Metal Mouth Freak)" (from "The Bar Mitzvah") and "Mexican Wrestler" (which had previously appeared on
Jill Sobule's 2000 album
Pink Pearl and in the episode "The 66th Day" from
Unfabulous). In the same year, Roberts recorded "If I Had It My Way" for the
soundtrack of the 2005 Disney film
Ice Princess. In 2006, Roberts covered the song "
Island in the Sun", which was originally recorded by
Weezer in 2001; she recorded the song for the
Aquamarine soundtrack, a film in which she starred as one of the lead actors. Also in 2006, Roberts returned to the big screen, starring alongside
Sara Paxton and singer
JoJo in
Aquamarine. She won a 2007
Young Artist Award for Best Supporting Young Actress in a Feature Film for her role in the film. The film
Aquamarine took fifth place at the box office in its opening weekend making $8 million. In early 2006, Roberts finished shooting her
title role in
Nancy Drew. The film was released to theaters on June 15, 2007, and grossed over $7 million in its opening weekend, though the film was not well received by critics. Roberts was set to reunite with
Nancy Drew director
Andrew Fleming on both
Rodeo Gal and a
Nancy Drew sequel in 2007, but these films were never made. Roberts said in a 2007 interview: "Right now I am focusing on movies. I am getting ready to start a new movie this summer so that is taking a lot of my time. I think when I am a little bit older it is definitely something I'd like to pursue." In another interview, she said: "My musical career is indefinitely on hold. I don't like people who become like 'actor slash singer.' I think people should be one or the other because usually you're not going to be great at both. You're going to be better at one, so you might as well stick to the one you're good at. I'm going for acting." In 2008, Roberts starred as the lead in the film
Wild Child, about a rebellious teen from
Malibu, California, sent to a
boarding school in England. Roberts described her character as "pretty much your typical spoiled-brat Malibu socialite who gets shipped off to a British boarding school." Roberts also appeared in two films:
Lymelife, which was premiered at the
2008 Toronto International Film Festival, and
The Flight Before Christmas, where she had her
voiceover debut when she voiced the English version of the character Wilma. In 2009, Roberts starred alongside
Jake T. Austin in
Hotel for Dogs, based on the novel by
Lois Duncan. The film premiered in January 2009, and took fifth place in its opening weekend with over $17 million. The film has to-date grossed over $114 million, and received generally mixed reviews from critics. She also appeared that year in
The Winning Season, portraying Abbie Miller. In 2010, Roberts co-starred as Grace in the film ''
Valentine's Day in which her aunt, Julia Roberts also appeared, although they were never together on-screen. She also appeared that year in Twelve, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, 4.3.2.1., It's Kind of a Funny Story, and Virginia''.
2011–2019: Mature roles and critical recognition (October 2011) In 2011, she starred alongside
Freddie Highmore in the romantic comedy
The Art of Getting By. She also played the role of
Jill Roberts in the
Wes Craven film
Scream 4. Roberts next appeared in the 2012 film
Celeste and Jesse Forever, parodying pop stars such as
Kesha with her performance as Riley Banks, an incurious blonde singer. Roberts said in an interview that her role as Banks tempted her to write an album of songs using her character as an
alter ego. On February 7, 2013,
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Roberts had been cast to star in a pilot for
Fox called
Delirium, based on the
Lauren Oliver novels. She portrayed Lena Haloway, the protagonist, but Fox decided not to pick up the show. The pilot episode was picked up by
Hulu and was available to stream for a limited time beginning on June 20, 2014. Roberts co-starred with
John Cusack and
Evan Peters in the comedy-drama film
Adult World, released on April 18, 2013. Roberts played a recent college graduate who works at a
sex shop to make ends meet. She has said that most of her lines were ad-libbed so her reactions in the film were completely genuine. Her performance was praised by both Andrew O'Hehir of
Salon and Stephanie Zacharek of
The Village Voice, who praised Roberts' performance as "both breezy and carefully tuned". In the next month, she guest starred as Amanda Barrington in the animated sitcom
Family Guy, in the episode "
No Country Club for Old Men". Roberts then starred in the comedy film ''
We're the Millers'', alongside
Jennifer Aniston and
Jason Sudeikis. It was released on August 3, 2013. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a financial success, grossing over $269 million against a budget of $37 million. Roberts played the lead role in
Gia Coppola's directorial debut,
Palo Alto, based on
James Franco's short story collection
of the same name. The film was released on August 29, 2013. It received generally positive reviews, with particular praise for Roberts' performance.
Tom Shone of
The Guardian and
Ian Freer of
Empire both called her the "standout" of the film, with Freer praising her performance for being "heartbreaking as she suggests longings and anxieties without over-hyping it. Much like the film itself." at the 2015
San Diego Comic-ConRoberts next appeared in season three of the
FX anthology horror series
American Horror Story, called
American Horror Story: Coven, in a main role from late 2013 through January 2014. Roberts portrayed a self-involved party girl named
Madison Montgomery, who also happens to be a
telekinetic witch. She then portrayed
Maggie Esmerelda, a con artist posing as a fortune teller, in
American Horror Story: Freak Show. In 2015, Roberts starred alongside
Palo Alto co-star
Nat Wolff in
Ashby, portraying the supporting role of Eloise. The film had its world premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, and was released on September 25, in a
limited release and through
video on demand. Roberts next appeared in the horror film ''
The Blackcoat's Daughter (also known by its original title February'') alongside
Kiernan Shipka. Directed by
Osgood Perkins, the film premiered at the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Roberts played the lead character
Chanel Oberlin on Fox's comedy horror series
Scream Queens, alongside
Jamie Lee Curtis and
Lea Michele. The series was created by
American Horror Story producers
Ryan Murphy and
Brad Falchuk, with
Glee producer
Ian Brennan. The show was canceled after two seasons. Roberts starred alongside
Dave Franco in
Lionsgate's
adaptation of the young-adult novel
Nerve. The film premiered at the
SVA Theater on July 12, 2016, and grossed $85 million worldwide against its $19 million budget. In 2017, Roberts played Jess in the drama film
Who We Are Now, released on September 9 at the
2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Later, Roberts returned to
American Horror Story, guest starring as newscast reporter
Serena Belinda, in its seventh season,
Cult, in the episode "
11/9". In March 2018, it was announced that Roberts was set to star in ''
Anya's Ghost, an upcoming supernatural comedy film based on the award-winning graphic novel of the same name, written by Vera Brosgol and published in 2011. From April to August 2018, Roberts starred in three films: In a Relationship, Billionaire Boys Club, and Little Italy''. She next appeared in
American Horror Story: Apocalypse, where she reprised her role of Madison Montgomery for the crossover season, returning to the main cast. On October 8, 2018, it was announced that Roberts had joined the cast of the animated musical comedy film
UglyDolls, voicing the character Wedgehead. The film was released on May 3, 2019. In the same month, after reports about Roberts being cast as Kat Baker in the
Netflix series
Spinning Out, it was announced that she had exited the series due to scheduling conflicts. In 2019, Roberts starred in the fantasy drama film
Paradise Hills, as Uma. The film had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 26. From September through November 2019, Roberts starred in the ninth season of
American Horror Story, subtitled
1984, portraying
Brooke Thompson. The season has been described as being heavily influenced by classic horror slasher films such as
Friday the 13th and
Halloween.
2019–present: More recent roles In March 2019, it was announced that she would star in the romantic comedy film
Holidate, which was released on October 28, 2020. Roberts appeared in the controversial 2020 thriller film
The Hunt. In September 2020, it was announced that she signed a first look television deal at
Hulu. In April 2021, Roberts was cast to star alongside
Thomas Mann and
Lewis Tan in the romantic comedy
About Fate, directed by
Marius Balčiūnas-Weisberg. In October 2021, she was set to star in and produce the thriller film
Abandoned with
John Gallagher Jr. and
Michael Shannon. In 2022, she was cast to star in
Madame Web, an installment of
Sony's Spider-Man Universe. Roberts appeared on the March 2022 cover of
Tatler, with a photoshoot conducted at the
Chateau Marmont in
The Hamptons, a locale she has visited since her mother moved there. In the interview, Roberts spoke about her interest in adapting books for film and television as she explores a production career. which debuted at the
2025 Cannes Film Festival and its worldwide distribution rights were picked up by Archstone Entertainment.
Future projects In 2024, Roberts was set to star in the thriller
Fourth Wall, from director Alexis Ostrander and a feature script debut from Jerry Kontogiorgis. In early 2025, Roberts was cast in the comedy
Old Pals, alongside
Henry Winkler,
Evan Rachel Wood, and
Brian Cox. She is also set to star alongside
Noomi Rapace,
Ben Platt, and
Laura Harrier among others, in the psychological thriller
The Technique, an original script from
Hemlock Grove author Brian McGreevy in his feature film directorial debut. In August 2025, she signed on to star in
A Murder Uncorked, a rom-com murder mystery with
Ari Sandel,
Karen McCullah, and
Vincent Newman on board as director, screenwriter, and producer respectively.
Work as producer Emma Roberts has explored producing, in addition to acting. She established her production company, Belletrist TV and secured a first-look television deal with Hulu, focusing on book adaptations for television. Her debut as an executive producer came with the adaptation of Carola Lovering's
Tell Me Lies, which premiered in September 2022
. In 2024, Roberts produced and starred in
Space Cadet, a romantic comedy film released on
Prime Video. as well as re-teaming with her
American Horror Story: Delicate co-star
Kim Kardashian to produce the series
Calabasas, based on the Via Blednar novel ''If You Lived Here You'd Be Famous By Now''.
Belletrist book club In 2017, Roberts, along with her friend Karah Preiss, founded the book club Belletrist. The initiative aims to foster a community where women can feel confident and empowered, with a broader goal of promoting reading. The first book featured on Belletrist was
Joan Didion's
South and West. == Public image ==