Roberts was born in Decatur, Georgia. She is of English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, German, and Swedish descent. Her parents, Betty Lou Bredemus (1934-2015) and Walter Grady Roberts (1933-1977), one-time actors and playwrights, met while touring a production of "George Washington Slept Here" for the armed forces. In 1963 they co-founded the Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia. Roberts' mother, became a church secretary and real estate agent, and her Father, a vacuum cleaner salesman. They filed for divorce in 1971 and it was finalized early in 1972. Eric stayed with his Father in Atlanta, estranged from his sisters.