Rita Wilson (birth name is Margarita Ibrahimoff) was born on October 26, 1956 in Los Angeles.[5] Her mother, Dorothea Tzigkou (Greek: Δωροθέα Τζίγκου), was Greek, raised in Sotirë near Dropull i Sipërm in Albania, close to the border with Greece.[6] Her father, Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff (Bulgarian: Хасан Халилов Ибрахимов; 1920–2009), was a Bulgarian Muslim (Pomak) born in Oraio (Breshtene), Greece, close to the border with Bulgaria. Her father's family moved to Bulgaria when he was a child. He moved from Bulgaria to the US in 1949.[7][8] He converted from Islam to Orthodox Christianity upon his marriage and changed his name to Allan Wilson in 1960,[8] choosing his name after a local street. The family lived in Los Angeles, where Wilson's father worked as a bartender.[9] Wilson was raised in the Greek Orthodox faith.[10] In addition to Bulgarian, her father could speak "Russian, Turkish, Polish, Greek, a little bit of Italian, a little bit of French" according to Wilson'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.[11]
Wilson's career began with a guest appearance on The Brady Bunch in the 1972 episode "Greg's Triangle," where she played Pat Conway, one of the candidates running against Marcia Brady for head cheerleader.[12] She also twice appeared on M*A*S*H in 1982 as Nurse Lacey[13] as well as the sitcoms Three's Company and Bosom Buddies starring her future husband Tom Hanks,[14] and as Hester Rose Crane, the deceased mother of Frasier Crane on Frasier.[15]
She was instrumental in helping actress-playwright Nia Vardalos get the movie deal for My Big Fat Greek Wedding,[18] which became the highest-grossing independent film of all time and for which she served as a producer.[19] Wilson produced two stage productions of the play, as they were developing the film. A sequel, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, which Wilson co-produced and in which she had a supporting role, was released in 2016.[20]
In March 2020, while filming in Australia, Hanks announced through his Instagram profile that the couple had contracted COVID-19 and were experiencing minor symptoms while he was shooting an upcoming film Elvis (as Colonel Tom Parker) with director Baz Luhrmann in Australia. Before they were returned to quarantine, they were admitted to the Gold Coast University Hospital.[31][32][33][34] On March 27, Wilson and her husband returned home to Los Angeles after they recovered from the virus.[35] The couple decided to donate their blood antibodies for virus research.[36]
Wilson produced the film A Man Called Otto, initially released in December 2022.[37][38] Wilson became interested in producing the film after watching A Man Called Ove, the Swedish film upon which A Man Called Otto is based.[39] The film was sold to Sony Pictures in February 2022 for $60 million, at that time the largest deal to date at the virtual European Film Market.[40] In December, Wilson launched her production company Artistic Films, with A Man Called Otto as the company's first project.[41]
At the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, DC on December 4, 2014, she performed for President Obama and Michelle Obama, and served as co-host of the event.[44]
In 2016, Wilson began writing her own songs with the help of co-writer, the Grammy-nominated Kara Dioguardi.[45][46] The first song she wrote and sang was "Grateful" (later appearing on the self-titled album, Rita Wilson) with Dioguardi and Jason Reeves.[47] Earlier, in 2014, Wilson wrote the song "Bad Things" with Matt Nathanson, for the Scott Eastwood film Dawn Patrol, in which she also starred.[48][49]
The New York Times said: "Ms. Wilson has a catch in her voice that conveys yearning and potential heartbreak behind a facade of cheer."[53]
To support the release of Rita Wilson, she opened on a tour with Chicago; she has said she is a lifelong fan of the band.[54][50]
A year later, Wilson presented "Liner Notes: Songwriters, Stories and Music with Rita Wilson and Friends", where she sang, and also invited other singer/songwriters to participate in the event. The show, which took place at the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, included Patty Smyth, Desmond Child, Jeff Barry, Kristian Bush, among others.[22]
With her third album, Bigger Picture, Wilson drew directly from her personal life for its theme. The album, released September 28, 2018, reunited her with producer Fred Mollin (Johnny Mathis, Jimmy Webb, and Kris Kristofferson); the pair originally worked together on her debut album AM/FM in 2012. Wilson once again wrote originals such as the title track and others with Kristian Bush and Darrell Brown, as well as new partners The Warren Brothers, Lindy Robbins and Alex Reid. The set also included covers of Cat Stevens' "The Wind" and Burt Bacharach/Hal David's "What the World Needs Now Is Love".[55]
Also, in 2018, Wilson's original song, "Heart Unknown", was used in the indie film, Simple Wedding. She performed the song, which she co-wrote with Josh Alexander, Kara Dioguardi, and Mozella. In addition, she performed "Sometimes Love", co-written with David Hodges, for the independent film Emmett, in which she also stars.[56]
On March 29, 2019, Wilson released her fourth album, Halfway to Home which included "Throw Me a Party", a song inspired by her survival from breast cancer.[57] Other songs were created during a writing workshop that partnered her with Mozella, Mitch Allan (Demi Lovato), Kara DioGuardi (Pink), Liz Rose and Krisian Bush.[58]Halfway to Home was co-produced by Nathan Chapman, who has worked regularly with Taylor Swift. "Halfway to Home finds Wilson pulling from musical traditions that revere deep storytelling (Southern California rock, classic Nashville country), which was a hallmark for her growing up," explained Rolling Stone.[59]
On March 29, 2023, Wilson attended the White House's Greek Independence Day celebration hosted by President Biden alongside other prominent Greek-Americans.[80] Wilson led the event's cultural program, performing four songs.[81]
Journalism
Wilson has been a contributing editor to Harper's Bazaar magazine, writing over twenty-one articles.[82] She also started, and was Editor at Large of, a section on The Huffington Post called Huff/Post50, which explored issues and topics relative to people over fifty years old.[83] She has also written for O, The Oprah Magazine.[84]
Wilson married actor Tom Hanks in 1988. Hanks already had two children from a previous marriage, Colin and Elizabeth Hanks. She has two sons with Hanks, Chet and Truman.[85] Wilson has three grandchildren.[86]
In 2015, Wilson signed an open letter on which the ONE Campaign had been collecting signatures. 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. The G7 and AU were expected to set the priorities in development funding before a main UN summit in September 2015 that was to establish new development goals for the generation.[88]
Philanthropy
For over 20 years, Wilson and her husband, Tom Hanks, have been honorary co-chairs along with Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw of the Women's Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), specializing in raising money for women's cancers.[89] In 2016, WCRF joined forces with Evelyn Lauder's Breast Cancer Research Foundation.[citation needed] Wilson contributed to the Moffitt Cancer Center by donating "True Hearts" jewelry made of sterling silver and 14k gold.
In 2018, Wilson and Hanks were honored[93] with USC Shoah Foundation's Ambassadors For Humanity award in recognition of their "longstanding commitment to humanitarian causes and support of veterans".[94] The couple also contribute to other charities including AIDS Project Los Angeles,[95] and many more.
Wilson and her husband have also made a significant contribution in helping the people who suffered from the Mati Fire in Greece.[96] This has earned her and Hanks an offer of honorary naturalization in Greece from the Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos[96] on December 27, 2019.
^Dilouambaka, Ethel (March 18, 2018). "Famous Greek Actors in Hollywood". The Culture Trip. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved September 28, 2018. Born Margarita Ibrahimoff in Los Angeles, California, Wilson is Greek through her mother, Dorothea Genkos, a Greek native of Sotirë, Albania, near the Greek border. Her father, born Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff, was a Bulgarian Muslim born in Oraio, Greece, near the Bulgarian border.
^Wilson, Rita (February 2008). "Would You Marry Him Again?". O, The Oprah Magazine. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
