Emma Roberts was born into a pretty notable family. Her father is veteran actor Eric Roberts and her aunt is Academy Award winner Julia Roberts. Emma has mostly kept her career separate from them, yet has managed to carve out her own niche. She's appeared in movies but her wheelhouse seems to be television.
Roberts has been acting since she was a kid but has truly blossomed over the past few years. The 2010s saw her branch out, doing a great job in various genres including horror, comedy, and drama. Based on the ratings at IMDb, these are the highlights of her career.
Nerve (6.5)
Released in 2016, Nerve was one of the most interesting and unique film concepts in recent memory. It focused on an online truth or dare style game where the players get more watchers based on how dangerous the dare they accept is. Each one seems to one-up the previous challenge.
Emma Roberts played Vee, a girl who enters the game after being accused of never taking risks. Her performance and chemistry with Dave Franco were praised, as was the soundtrack. The movie was a non-stop thrill ride and one of Roberts' most financially successful films.
The Winning Season (6.6)
Emma Roberts isn't an actress that you would typically associate with a movie about sports. However, she dabbled in that world for 2009's The Winning Season. It was a sports comedy that premiered during Sundance Film Festival and wasn't seen by many.
That being said, it boasts a strong cast. Sam Rockwell stars as a divorced dad looking to reconnect with his daughter. He gets a job coaching a girls basketball team featuring characters played by the likes of Roberts and Rooney Mara. They come together on the court and in helping him with his daughter.
The Art Of Getting By (6.6)
It seems like Emma Roberts has kind of mastered the role of playing one of the two leads in a small-budget teen movie that hits Sundance Film Festival. Two years after it happened with The Winning Season, she did it again for The Art of Getting By.
This was a romantic comedy-drama that again featured a pretty impressive cast. Freddie Highmore was alongside Roberts (Sally Howe) as the two main characters who form a bond during senior year. The cast also includes Alicia Silverstone and Blair Underwood, among others.
Celeste And Jesse Forever (6.6)
Celeste and Jesse Forever seems like the ideal indie romantic comedy-drama. That's because it stars the always likable and talented Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones as the leads. Even if the film was bad, it would probably be enjoyable because of their charisma.
Samberg and Jones played a couple going through a divorce but trying to maintain their lifelong friendship while dating others. Roberts played Riley Banks, a pop star who befriends Celeste. Rounding out the cast were Elijah Wood, Ari Graynor, and Eric Christian Olsen.
Lymelife (6.9)
This might not have premiered at Sundance but it did show up at Toronto International Film Festival back in 2008. Lymelife took place in Long Island, New York back in the 1970s. It centered on two families that deal with failing marriages, Lyme disease, and more.
Emma Roberts portrays Adrianna Bragg, the daughter in one family, who has been the object of affection for the son of the other family, Scott Bartlett, played by Rory Culkin. Throw in Alec Baldwin and Kieran Culkin and you've got a strong cast. Lymelife won the International Federation of Film Critics Award in 2008.
We're The Millers (7.0)
It's the highest-grossing movie of Emma Roberts' career, surpassing Valentine's Day. 2013's We're The Millers followed a small-time drug dealer who gets help smuggling drugs out of the country by hiring his random neighbors to pose as his family.
Jason Sudeikis plays David Clark, the protagonist. Jennifer Aniston was Rose O'Reilly, a stripper who posed as his wife. Their fake children were Emma Roberts' Casey Mathis (a runaway and a thief) and Will Poulter's Kenny Rossmore (a socially awkward teen). The film was considered to be a lot of fun.
It's Kind Of A Funny Story (7.1)
Once again, Emma Roberts shined in an independent film centered on teenagers. In 2010's It's Kind of a Funny Story, she played Noelle, a girl staying at a psych ward. The film's lead, Keir Gilchrist's Craig Gilner, is sent there after attempting suicide and the two form a bond.
What truly helps this film click, beyond their chemistry, is the supporting cast. Zach Galifianakis is hilarious and was coming off of The Hangover. There's also the always powerful Viola Davis, Lauren Graham, Thomas Mann, and Zoë Kravitz. It was said to have done well dealing with the subject matter.
Scream Queens (7.1)
It may not be the highest-ranked project of her career but Emma Roberts has never been better than when she was in Scream Queens. The series was created by Ryan Murphy, who grew to like working with Roberts after American Horror Story.
The show worked as a parody of slasher films. Each season dealt with a serial killer on the loose but was done in a comedic way. Roberts played Chanel Oberlin in both seasons and was perfect in the role. She was a selfish, petty, wealthy sorority girl who had underlings that she named Chanel #2, Chanel #3, and so on.
Blow (7.6)
If you weren't privy to the beginnings of Emma Roberts' career, then this one might surprise you. It's the earliest credit on this list, as Blow hit theaters way back in 2001. It was based on a book called Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellín Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All.
The story was about George Jung (Johnny Depp), Pablo Escobar, and the Medellín Cartel. It's considered something of a cult classic. Roberts had a small role as Kristina Sunshine Jung, daughter of George. The older version was played by Jaime King.
American Horror Story (8.0)
American Horror Story is always an interesting series to look at on IMDb. The overall series scores well, though each season is its own individual, contained story. Roberts has appeared in the main cast of four seasons and had a guest appearance in a fifth, totaling 46 episodes.
She debuted in season three's Coven as a witch named Madison Montgomery. In season four's Freak Show, she was a fortune teller con artist named Maggie Esmeralda. In Apocalypse, she reprised her role as Montgomery. Most recently, Roberts played Brooke Thompson, one of the final girls in 1984.