Rita Wilson Biography

Rita Wilson (born Margarita Ibrahimoff; October 26, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and producer.

Early life

Wilson was born Margarita Ibrahimoff () in Los Angeles, California. Her mother was born and raised in an ethnic Greek village (Sotirë) in present-day Albania. Her father, born Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff (March 21, 1920 " March 6, 2009), worked at a race track; he was a Bulgarian Muslim, born in Oraio, Xanthi, Greece, and lived in Bulgaria, where his half brother Ferhat still lives, before moving to the United States on May 4, 1949. Wilson's father changed his name from Hassan Ibrahimoff to Allan Wilson in 1960, "Wilson" being the name of a local street in Southern California. Wilson was raised Greek Orthodox.

Career

Wilson's career began with a guest appearance on The Brady Bunch in the 1972 episode "Greg's Triangle". 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.

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, Raise Your Voice, It's Complicated, 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 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'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.

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 60s and 70s, including a cover of "Wichita Lineman" that she performed with the song's writer-composer, Jimmy Webb.

Personal life

She has been married to actor Tom Hanks since April 1988, and the couple have two sons, Chester (born 4 August 1990) and Truman Theodore (born 26 December 1995). She also has two stepchildren from Tom Hanks' previous marriage, Colin and Elizabeth Ann.

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. She is a devout member of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Filmography

Roles as an actress

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Spinout	Bit Girl (uncredited)
1979	'	Debbie
1980	Cheech & Chong's Next Movie	Actress
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
1990	Sinners	Margaret
	'	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
	'	Rachel
2001	Perfume	Roberta	aka Dress to Kill
	'	Grace Avery-Baker	(uncredited)
2002	Auto Focus	Anne Crane
2004	Raise Your Voice	Francis Fletcher
2005	'	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	'	Vivian Sargent
	Larry Crowne	Betty

As a producer

Production roles

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
2003	My Big Fat Greek Life	Executive producer	Television program
2004	Connie and Carla
2008	Mamma Mia!
2009	My Life in Ruins

Discography

• 2012: AM/FM (Audio CD: May 8, 2012)

Track listing

1. "All I Have to Do is Dream"
2. "Never My Love"
3. "Come See About Me"
4. "Angel of the Morning"
5. "Walking in the Rain"
6. "Wichita Lineman"
7. "Cherish"
8. "You Were on My Mind"
9. "Good Times Charlie"
10. "Love has No Pride"
11. "Please Come to Boston"
12. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow"
13. "Faithless Love"
14. "River"