Emma Roberts Strums Her Way To Stardom

LOS ANGELES (August 13, 2006) — Being an actress seemed to come easy for teen star Emma Roberts, who says she spent a considerable amount of time watching her aunt, Julia Roberts, on the set of her films.

Playing the guitar, however, was another story.

“I didn’t really want to start, but my mom kind of forced me into it. She said it would be fun,” the 15-year-old star of the Nickelodeon cable network show “Unfabulous” recalled recently.

But that was five years ago, the actress added with a giggle, and at age 10 she was far more interested in “playing on the computer than playing on the guitar.”

A couple years later, when she auditioned for the part of the cute but nerdy heroine of “Unfabulous,” Roberts learned the part called for her character, Addie Singer, to accompany herself on the guitar while performing angst-ridden songs about her life.

“So it’s good that I learned,” she said, adding that with such a background it was natural she’d be drawn to the inaugural Stick With It Awards competition now under way for kids ages 4 to 12.

Kids are encouraged to enter essays explaining how they managed to stick to something important.

“I think it’s really important as a kid myself to stick with it,” Roberts, a spokeswoman for the competition, told The Associated Press. “I know that’s really difficult sometimes, but I do think it’s important to stick with it and follow through.”