Julia Roberts turns 59 on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, and the birthday has put her name at the top of United States trending searches. Roberts is also preparing a return to Broadway next spring in Small Mouth Sounds, her first stage role in 20 years. The man she has shared more than two decades of family life with is her husband, cinematographer Danny Moder.
Moder is not the star of the household. He is the camera professional who met Roberts on a film set in 2000, married her in a private ceremony in 2002, and has since built a career behind the camera while keeping a notably low public profile.
Danny Moder — Quick Reference Profile
| Full name | Daniel Richard Moder, known as Danny Moder. |
| Date of birth and age | 31 January 1969, Los Angeles, California — aged 57. |
| Nationality | American. |
| Primary role | Cinematographer and camera operator. |
| Famous relation (anchor) | Husband of actress Julia Roberts, married July 2002. |
| Family | Three children with Roberts: twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, born November 2004, and Henry, born June 2007. |
| Net worth | Not publicly verified — figures circulating online are estimates, not a confirmed figure. |
| Height | Not publicly verified. |
| Social media handles | Not publicly verified as an official public profile; he keeps a low public profile. |
Growing up inside the film business in Los Angeles
Daniel Richard Moder was born on 31 January 1969 in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in a family already working in film. His father, Mike Moder, worked as a producer, which gave the younger Moder an early view of how a set runs. He later studied at the University of Colorado Boulder before returning to Los Angeles to work in the industry.
Moder started at the bottom of the camera ladder. His first credited Hollywood job was as a production assistant on the 1995 action film Crimson Tide, and he then worked in camera and electrical departments on films including The Fan, Enemy of the State, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Spider-Man 3. That grounding in the practical side of shooting shaped the career that followed.
Stepping out from the crew into cinematography
Moder made his debut as a cinematographer on the short comedy Kid Quick, and went on to shoot features including Fireflies in the Garden, Highland Park, Plush and Secret in Their Eyes. His best-known television work is the 2014 film The Normal Heart, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for cinematography. He has also worked as cinematographer on Ibiza and Animal Kingdom.
The through-line in his filmography is range rather than celebrity. Moder has moved between studio features, independent films and television movies, taking the cinematographer role on projects where the camera work serves the story rather than drawing attention to itself. That working pattern has kept him employed steadily since the mid-1990s without making him a public figure in his own right.
Meeting Julia Roberts on The Mexican — and a wedding in Taos
Moder met Julia Roberts on the set of the 2000 film The Mexican, where he was working in the camera department and she was starring opposite Brad Pitt. The pair married on 4 July 2002 in a private ceremony at Roberts’ ranch in Taos, New Mexico, attended by close friends and family. They marked their 24th wedding anniversary in July 2026. Roberts has spoken about the marriage in rare public comments, telling Entertainment Tonight in 2026 that Moder remains her greatest source of joy, answering simply: ‘Danny Moder. Never changes.’
The couple have three children together: twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, born in November 2004, and their youngest son, Henry, born in June 2007. Roberts has described homemaking as her full-time job when she is not working, and the family has largely been raised away from the daily glare of Hollywood publicity.
The birthday attention for Roberts this week also connects to her next professional chapter. Roberts is set to return to Broadway next spring in Small Mouth Sounds, reuniting with director Joe Mantello, who directed her 2006 stage debut Three Days of Rain. She told PEOPLE she could not be more excited to reunite with Mantello and her castmates for the play about six strangers at a silent retreat.
What Danny Moder earns — and why no firm figure is published
No reliable, publicly verified net worth figure exists for Danny Moder, so this article does not present one. Estimates of around $10 million circulate on celebrity-net-worth style websites, but those figures are not tied to audited earnings, contracts or a primary financial source. They should be treated as unverified estimates, not facts.
What can be stated with confidence is the shape of his income: more than 25 film and television credits since the mid-1990s, spanning camera department work and cinematography roles. Any figure that merges his earnings with his wife’s separate fortune would be misleading, and this article keeps the two apart. His height is likewise not publicly verified from a reliable source, so it is not stated here. For readers following the Roberts family, the more useful picture is a working cinematographer with a long, steady career, married for 24 years, whose public footprint is deliberately small. That restraint is part of why the couple’s marriage has lasted in an industry where it often does not.
Questions readers ask about Danny Moder
Who is Danny Moder? Danny Moder is an American cinematographer and the husband of actress Julia Roberts. He has worked in film since the mid-1990s, first in camera and electrical departments and later as a cinematographer.
How did Danny Moder and Julia Roberts meet? They met on the set of the 2000 film The Mexican, where Moder worked in the camera department and Roberts starred. They married two years later, on 4 July 2002, in Taos, New Mexico.
How many children do Danny Moder and Julia Roberts have? Three: twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, born in November 2004, and Henry, born in June 2007.
What films has Danny Moder shot? His cinematography credits include Fireflies in the Garden, The Normal Heart, Secret in Their Eyes, Ibiza and Animal Kingdom, plus camera department work on Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Spider-Man 3.
Was Danny Moder nominated for an Emmy? Yes. He received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his cinematography on the television film The Normal Heart.
Myth check: did Moder meet Roberts on Pretty Woman? No. Pretty Woman was released in 1990, a decade before they met on The Mexican in 2000. The Pretty Woman connection belongs to Roberts’ career, not to how the couple met.
Myth check: is Danny Moder an actor? No. He is a cinematographer and camera operator. His work is behind the camera, and he should not be confused with on-screen performers in the same films.
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