Inside Julia Roberts’ Private Life as the Most Protective Mom in Hollywood

It a soccer tournament in Bakersfield, Calif., Julia Roberts tried to blend in with the other moms by wearing a baseball hat, sunglasses and dark clothes. But as her daughter, Hazel, chased a ball on the field, the actress cheered loudly and revealed her famous megawatt smile.

“Julia was not signing any autographs and wanted to be left alone, but was very kind,” a witness tells Closer. “The family was having a blast.”

Julia's twins Hazel and Phinnaeus in 2008.

There is no denying that Julia, 47, is a devoted mother to Hazel, 10, her twin brother, Phinnaeus, and Henry, 7. In fact, the star has embraced motherhood with the same zeal that once took her from small-town Smyrna, Ga., to the top of Hollywood’s A-list with hits like Pretty Woman and Erin Brockovich.

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“My life at home gives me absolute joy,” says Julia, who’s been married to cameraman Danny Moder, 46, since 2002. But some insiders say that Julia, who had a chaotic upbringing, has an extreme approach to parenting, and details of her controversial philosophy reveal some shocking truths about the unusual way the star is raising her kids.

Julia and her husband, Danny, in February 2011.

“Julia is the most overprotective mother in Hollywood, and is proud of it,” one insider reveals to Closer. And in an effort to live “as naturally as possible,” adds a friend, Julia “adopted the Attachment Parenting style when she had kids.”

This includes such practices as baby-wearing and co-sleeping. “Julia carried her babies around in a sling — Danny used to joke that she was like a kangaroo,” says the insider, adding that “Julia also breast-fed her children until they were 3 years old.”

To read the full story on Julia, pick up the new issue of ‘Closer Weekly,’ on newsstands now!