- Rita Wilson
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Rita Wilson 
Rita Wilson, September 2008Born Margarita Ibrahimoff
October 26, 1956
Los Angeles, California, U.S.Occupation Actress, producer Years active 1972–present Spouse Tom Hanks (m. 1988–present) Children 2 sons Rita Wilson (born October 26, 1956)[1] is an American actress and producer.
Contents
Early life
Wilson was born Margarita Ibrahimoff[1] (Bulgarian: Маргарита Ибрахимов, Greek: Μαργαρίτα Ιμπραΐμοβ) in Los Angeles, California.
Her father, a Bulgarian[2] who worked at a racetrack, was born in Greece. Before immigrating to the US, he had lived in Bulgaria and Turkey.[3]
Her mother, Dorothy, was born and raised in an ethnic Greek village (Sotira) .[2][4] Wilson's family changed their surname from "Ibrahimoff" to "Wilson," which was a name of a local street in Southern California.
Career
Wilson's career began with a guest appearance on The Brady Bunch, in a 1972 episode entitled "Greg's Triangle," which was followed by appearances on several shows during the 1970s and 1980s.
She has appeared in several movies, including Volunteers, Teen Witch, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Barbarians at the Gate, Mixed Nuts, Sleepless in Seattle, Now and Then, That Thing You Do!, Jingle All the Way, Runaway Bride, Invisible Child, The Story of Us, and Raise Your Voice. She played Susan Borman, wife of astronaut Frank Borman, in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.
Wilson has performed on Broadway, where she performed the role of Roxie Hart from June–August 2006 in the revival of Chicago.
She is often credited with being the driving force behind Nia Vardalos' movie deal for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which became the highest-grossing independent film of all time,[citation needed] and for which she served as a producer.
Wilson will have a music album coming out in February 2012.
Personal life
She has been married to actor Tom Hanks since April 1988, with whom she has had two stepchildren from a previous marriage to her husband and two sons, Chester, or "Chet" (who has a small part as a student in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and released a rap single in 2011), and Truman. 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 credits good friend Rosie O'Donnell as inspiration for her charitable work, particularly with cancer and children's charities.[5] She is a member of the Greek Orthodox Church.[6]
In the director's cut of the Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do!, her brief appearance as a cocktail waitress named Marguerite has another scene, in which main character Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) drunkenly calls her Margarita, a reference to Wilson's real-life first name.
Filmography
Actress Year Film Role Notes 1966 Spinout Bit Girl (uncredited) 1979 The Day It Came to Earth Debbie 1980 Cheech & Chong's Next Movie Actress 1985 Volunteers Beth Wexler 1989 Teen Witch Dancer 1990 Sinners Margaret The Bonfire of the Vanities P.R. Woman 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 Runaway Bride Ellie Graham Invisible Child Annie Beeman The Story of Us Rachel 2001 Perfume Roberta aka Dress to Kill The Glass House Grace Avery-Baker (uncredited) 2002 Auto Focus Anne Crane 2004 Raise Your Voice Francis Fletcher 2005 The Chumscrubber Terri Bratley Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D Beta Station Commander (voice) 2006 Beautiful Ohio Judith Messerman 2009 My Life in Ruins Elinor Old Dogs Jenna It's Complicated Trisha 2011 The Art of Getting By Vivian Sargent Larry Crowne Betty Producer Year Film 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 Year2003 My Big Fat Greek Life Executive producer TV series 2004 Connie and Carla 2008 Mamma Mia! 2009 My Life in Ruins References
- ^ a b 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.[1]
- ^ a b Welkos, Robert (2002-10-06). "Sending up the Greek in spirit". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/10/05/1033538810677.html. Retrieved 2008-10-10. "… my father is Bulgarian."
- ^ "Rita Wilson". Yahoo!. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019302/bioof. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
- ^ "My Big, Fat, Greek Mystery" – Terry Mattingly on religion.
- ^ H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
- ^ http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/spektar/zivot-i-stil/Pravoslavni-Holivud.sr.html
External links
Categories:- 1956 births
- Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States
- American film actors
- American television actors
- Actors from California
- American people of Greek descent
- American people of Bulgarian descent
- Greek Orthodox Christians
- Living people
- People from Los Angeles, California
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