JULIA ROBERTS - LOOKING AHEAD

With two of her three kids off at college, Julia Roberts is facing life as an empty nester and excited about what's next -

- JAIME HARKIN

Julia Roberts made some memorable appearances on the talk show circuit as she promoted her new Netflix movie, Leave the World Behind. During a Dec. 4 stop on The View, she hilariously helped the cohosts promote hair products, and on Dec. 5, she gushed about being a Swiftie on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Two nights later, she reenacted the viral "Name 'Em" scene from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (she played Sutton Stracke, while Cohen took on the role of Kyle Richards). "It's been a while since Julia's been so public with a press tour,” says a source. “She’s enjoyed it.”

The actress has been navigating a new normal since her twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus, 19, went off to college in the fall. While her 16-year-old son, Henry, is still at home with Roberts and her husband of 21 years, cinematographer Danny Moder, 54, the dedicated mom has more time on her hands than she’s had in nearly two decades. “Julia’s in one of the most bittersweet times in her life right now,” says the source, noting that while nearing empty nest status has “been hard” on the star, she can’t wait to jump back into her career full-time: “Julia has long had the option to pick whatever role she wants and work with whomever she wants, so she’s been having fun with that.”

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Roberts, 56, has always been a hands-on mom. "She was turning down films so that she wasn't away from her family for huge periods of time," says the source of how the star's priorities shifted after welcoming kids. "Acting is my dream come true, but it is not my only dream come true," Roberts told CBS News Sunday Morning last year.