Rita Wilson
| Rita Wilson | |
|---|---|
|
Wilson in October 2012 | |
| Born |
Margarita Ibrahimoff October 26, 1956 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation | Actress, producer, singer |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
| Spouse(s) | Tom Hanks (m. 1988) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Hassan Ibrahimoff |
| Relatives | Colin Hanks (step-son) |
Rita Wilson (born Margarita Ibrahimoff; October 26, 1956)[1] is an American actress, singer, activist, and producer. She appeared in films Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Now and Then (1995), Jingle All the Way (1996), The Story of Us (1999) and Runaway Bride (1999). Wilson has also performed on Broadway and on television, and she has produced several films, including My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).
Early life
Rita Wilson was born as Margarita Ibrahimoff[1] (Bulgarian: Маргарита Ибрахимова) in Los Angeles, California. Her mother was Greek, born and raised in Sotire near Dropull i Sipërm (Greek: Άνω Δρόπολις, Ano Dropolis) in Albania, near the border of Greece.[2] Her father, Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff (March 21, 1920 – March 6, 2009), was a Pomak (Bulgarian Muslim), born in Breshtene in the province of Western Thrace, Greece. Her father's half-brother Ferhat lives in Bulgaria.[fn 1][3][4][5] Wilson's father moved to the United States on May 4, 1949.[4] He converted from Islam to Orthodox Christianity upon his marriage and changed his name from Hassan Ibrahimoff to Allan Wilson in 1960,[4] choosing his name after a local street. Rita was raised in the Greek Orthodox faith.[6] Her father in addition to his Bulgarian could speak "Russian, Turkish, Polish, Greek, a little bit of Italian, a little bit of French" according to Rita's husband Tom Hanks, who said he modeled his portrayal of the character Viktor Navorski in the film The Terminal on his father-in-law.[7]
Career
Wilson's career began with a guest appearance on The Brady Bunch in the 1972 episode "Greg's Triangle," where she played one of the candidates running against Marcia for head cheerleader. She also twice appeared on M*A*S*H in 1982 as Nurse Lacey as well as the sitcoms Three's Company and Bosom Buddies starring her future husband Tom Hanks and as Hester Rose Crane, the deceased mother of Frasier Crane on Frasier. She has appeared in numerous movies, including Volunteers, Teen Witch, Barbarians at the Gate, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Mixed Nuts, Sleepless in Seattle, Now and Then, That Thing You Do!, Jingle All the Way, Runaway Bride, Invisible Child, The Story of Us, Raise Your Voice, It's Complicated, "cheech and chong's next movie" and Larry Crowne.
She played Susan Borman, wife of astronaut Frank Borman, in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. On television, she guest starred in many television series, including Frasier, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Good Wife, Body of Proof, and Girls.
Wilson performed on Broadway, where she performed the role of Roxie Hart from June to August 2006 in the revival of Chicago.
She is often credited with being the driving force behind actress-playwright Nia Vardalos's movie deal for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which became the highest-grossing independent film of all time, and for which she served as a producer.[8] Since Wilson is a Greek-American and her husband, Tom Hanks, is not (he is of English, German, and Portuguese ancestry), Wilson was convinced that she could relate to the situation in which the film's main character, Toula, found herself. Her confidence in Vardalos paid off tremendously. A sequel, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, which Wilson co-produced and in which she had a supporting role, was released in 2016.
Wilson's long-standing interest in singing led her to record a debut solo album, AM/FM, which she released May 8, 2012, on the Decca Records label. The album featured classics from the 1960s/70s, including a cover of "Wichita Lineman" that she performed with the song's writer-composer, Jimmy Webb.[9][10]
Personal life
Wilson married actor Tom Hanks in 1988, and they have two sons, Chester and Truman.[11] Wilson has two stepchildren, Colin and Elizabeth Hanks.
She contributed to the Moffitt Cancer Center by donating "True Hearts" jewelry made of sterling silver and 14k gold. The proceeds will benefit several charities. Wilson has credited Rosie O'Donnell as inspiration for her charitable work, particularly with cancer and children's charities.[12]
She is a devout member of the Greek Orthodox Church.[13]
In April 2015, Wilson announced that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had undergone a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.[14] After a one-month hiatus, she returned to Larry David's "Fish in the Dark" Broadway show.[15]
Activism
In 2015 Wilson signed an open letter which the ONE Campaign had been collecting signatures for; the letter was addressed to Angela Merkel and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, urging them to focus on women as they serve as the head of the G7 in Germany and the AU in South Africa respectively, which will start to set the priorities in development funding before a main UN summit in September 2015 that will establish new development goals for the generation.[16]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Spinout | Bit Girl (uncredited) | |
| 1972 | The Brady Bunch | Pat Conway | Television program Episode: "Greg's Triangle" |
| 1979 | The Day It Came to Earth[17] | Debbie | |
| 1980 | Cheech & Chong's Next Movie | Actress | |
| 1981 | Bosom Buddies | Cindy | Television program Episode: "All You Need is Love" |
| 1982 | M*A*S*H | Nurse Lacey | Television program Episodes: "Blood and Guts" "Hey, Look Me Over" |
| 1983 | Three's Company | Agnes Platt | Television program Episode: "Alias Jack Tripper" |
| 1985 | Volunteers | Beth Wexler | |
| 1986 | 227 | Dr. Peterson | Television program Episode: "Mary Nightingale" |
| 1989 | Teen Witch | Dancer | |
| Midnight Caller | Connie Zymak | Television program Episodes: "Mercy Me" "Based on a True Story" "The Reverend Soundbite" | |
| 1990 | Sinners | Margaret | |
| Bonfire of the Vanities, TheThe Bonfire of the Vanities | P.R. Woman | ||
| 1991 | Tales from the Crypt | Jess Gilcrist | Television program Episode: Mournin' Mess |
| 1993 | Sleepless in Seattle | Suzy | |
| 1994 | Mixed Nuts | Catherine O'Shaughnessy | |
| 1995 | Now and Then | Chrissy DeWitt Williams | |
| 1996 | No Dogs Allowed | ||
| That Thing You Do! | Marguerite | ||
| Jingle All the Way | Liz Langston | ||
| 1998 | Psycho | Caroline | |
| 1999 | Invisible Child | Annie Beeman | |
| Runaway Bride | Ellie Graham | ||
| Story of Us, TheThe Story of Us | Rachel | ||
| 2001 | Perfume | Roberta | aka Dress to Kill |
| Glass House, TheThe Glass House | Grace Avery-Baker | (uncredited) | |
| 2002 | Auto Focus | Anne Crane | |
| 2003 | My Big Fat Greek Life | Cousin Ariana | Television program Episode: "Ariana" |
| 2004 | Raise Your Voice | Francis Fletcher | |
| 2005 | Chumscrubber, TheThe Chumscrubber | Terri Bratley | |
| Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D | Beta Station Commander | Voice only | |
| 2006 | Beautiful Ohio | Judith Messerman | |
| 2009 | My Life in Ruins | Elinor | |
| Old Dogs | Jenna | ||
| It's Complicated | Trisha | ||
| 2011 | Art of Getting By, TheThe Art of Getting By | Vivian Sargent | |
| Larry Crowne | Wilma Gammelgaard | ||
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Bree Mazalon | Television program Episode: "Delinquent" | |
| The Good Wife | Viola Walsh | Television program Episodes: "Net Worth" "Great Firewall" "Live from Damascus" "Two Girls, One Code" "Outside the Bubble" | |
| 2012 | Jewtopia | Arlene Lipschitz | |
| Who Do You Think You Are? | Herself | Television program Episode: "Rita Wilson" | |
| 2013 | The Tutor | Tina | Short film |
| Girls | Evie Michaels | Television program Episodes: "It's About Time" "Females Only" "Truth or Dare" "Iowa" "Wedding Day" | |
| 2014 | Dawn Patrol | Shelia | |
| 2016 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | Anna | |
| Brother Nature | Cathy Turley |
As a producer
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding | Producer | Producers Guild of America Visionary Award Nominated — Producers Guild of America Award for Motion Picture Producer of the Year Starring and written by Nia Vardalos |
| 2003 | My Big Fat Greek Life | Executive producer | Television program Starring and co-produced by Nia Vardalos |
| 2004 | Connie and Carla | Executive producer | Feature film (comedy) Starring and written by Nia Vardalos |
| 2008 | Mamma Mia! | Executive producer | |
| 2009 | My Life in Ruins | Executive producer | Feature film (romantic comedy) Starring and written by Nia Vardalos |
| 2016 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | Executive producer | Sequel to My Big Fat Greek Wedding Starring and written by Nia Vardalos |
Discography
Notes
References
- 1 2 Birth date confirmed at the State of California, California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Date of birth for Margarit Ibrahimoff in Los Angeles, California is October 26, 1956.
- ↑ Welkos, Robert (2002-10-06). "Sending up the Greek in spirit". The Age. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
...my father is Bulgarian.
- 1 2 "Rita Wilson, Who Do You Think You Are?", tracing-the-tree, March 31, 2012; retrieved April 3, 2012.
- 1 2 3 Stated on Who Do You Think You Are?, March 30, 2012.
- ↑ Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson breaks down after discovering she had a brother who died as a baby on Who Do You Think You Are. Mail Online, 31 March 2012; retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ↑ "My Big, Fat, Greek Mystery", tmatt.net; September 18, 2002; accessed April 15, 2015.
- ↑ "Season 12 Episode 9." Inside the Actors Studio. Bravo. 14 May 2016. Television.
- ↑ "TV Review - My Big Fat Greek Life". Entertainment Weekly. 2003-04-07. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- ↑ Antoinette Bueno.Rita Wilson to Debut Solo Album, E! Online, February 9, 2012.
- ↑ "Rita Wilson to Debut Solo Album AM/FM", PRNewswire.com, February 9, 2012; retrieved February 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Tom Hanks Biography". Biography.com (FYI/A&E Networks). Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- ↑ H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute; accessed April 15, 2015.
- ↑ "Спектар: Живот и стил: Православни Холивуд : ПОЛИТИКА". Politika.rs. 2010-02-28. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
- ↑ "Rita Wilson Has Breast Cancer, Undergoes Double Mastectomy and Reconstructive Surgery". People.com. April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ↑ http://www.vulture.com/2015/01/larry-david-fish-in-the-dark.html#
- ↑ McVeigh, Tracy. "Poverty is sexist: leading women sign up for global equality | Life and style". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
- ↑ Deming, Mark. "Rita Wilson" (biography). Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
- ↑ Rita Wilson: "AM/FM". Artist notes and product description (Amazon.com). Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ↑ "Rita Wilson - Rita Wilson". Amazon. Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rita Wilson. |
- Rita Wilson at the Internet Movie Database
- Rita Wilson at the Internet Broadway Database
- Rita Wilson at the Internet Off-Broadway Database