Nia Vardalos
Antonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos (Greek: Νία Βαρντάλος; born September 24, 1962) is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She had her first major success with her 2002 film which she wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Nia Vardalos | |
|---|---|
 Vardalos in 2011 | |
| Born | Antonia Eugenia Vardalos September 24, 1962 |
| Occupation | Actress, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 1 |
Early and personal life
Vardalos was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on September 24, 1962. She is the daughter of Greek Canadian parents Doreen Christakos, a bookkeeper and homemaker, and Constantine "Gus" Vardalos, a land developer who was born in Kalavryta, Greece.[1][2][3] She attended St. George School and Shaftesbury High School in Winnipeg and Ryerson University[4] in Toronto.
She married the American actor Ian Gomez in September 1993.[5] They adopted a daughter in 2009. In 2013, Vardalos wrote a book about the experience, New York Times bestseller INSTANT MOM, and donates all proceeds to adoption groups. To date, social workers estimate the information from the book has placed 1700 children in permanent homes. Vardalos also posted an advice column about the adoption process in The Huffington Post.[6] It was announced on July 3, 2018, that Vardalos had filed for divorce from Gomez after 23 years of marriage and that they had already been separated since June 2017 because their relationship had turned into a friendship.[7][5]
Career
An alumna of the Chicago-based Second City comedy repertory company, Vardalos wrote and performed in over ten revues of sketch comedy and won Chicago's Joseph Jefferson award for Best Actress. Vardalos had many small roles in television shows such as The Drew Carey Show and Two Guys and a Girl; in addition, she provided voices for the 1996 radio adaptation of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi which Brian Daley had written for National Public Radio.
She gained fame with her movie about a woman's struggle to find love in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The film was a critical and commercial success. The film earned Vardalos an Academy Award Nomination for Best Writing, a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and a Screen Actors Guild Award Nomination.
The sleeper hit, which quickly became one of the highest-grossing independent films of all time, and the number one romantic comedy of all time. Vardalos hosted Saturday Night Live in the Fall of 2002.
Her next film she wrote, starred in and sang and danced in, released in 2004, was Connie and Carla, is a cult-hit musical about two women pretending to be drag queens.[8]
Vardalos made her directorial debut in 2009 with the independent feature I Hate Valentine's Day. The film, about a florist finding romance, was made for less than $400,000 and on only a limited release grossed $1,985,260 at the international box-office. This was followed by My Life in Ruins, about a misguided tour-guide traveling around Greece and featuring Academy Award winner Richard Dreyfuss. The film was the first American production given permission to film at the Acropolis; Vardalos personally sought the approval from the Greek government and credits her years of Greek School for helping her be fluent in the language.
In 2011, Vardalos collaborated with Tom Hanks to write the romantic comedy film Larry Crowne for the screen. The film was a commercial success, grossing $59.8 million; Vardalos also voiced the character Map Genie in the film.
In 2016, Vardalos adapted Cheryl Strayed's beloved book, Tiny Beautiful Things, and starred in the sold out run of the play at The Public Theater in New York, directed by Thomas Kail. The play received outstanding reviews and is the New York Times Critic's Pick. Vardalos reprised her role in 2017 in another sold-out run at The Public, and again at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. Published by Samuel French, the play was quickly licensed by many theaters and is on the list of Top Ten Most Produced Plays.
Vardalos joined many celebrities helping to produce The 1 Second Film art project; she herself was featured in The Dialogue, an interview series. In this 90 minute interview with producer Mike DeLuca, Vardalos talked about how her experiences in The Second City comedy troupe helped her as an actress and a screenwriter, and how the unofficial "tell-the-Greek" word-of-mouth program had a hand in catapulting her movie to such great heights. She sang The Beatles song "Golden Slumbers" on the 2006 charity album Unexpected Dreams – Songs from the Stars.
Vardalos's struggle to become a mother, made its way into a book she wrote, Instant Mom, which was published in 2013 and is a New York Times bestseller. She continues to donate all proceeds to adoption groups.
Vardalos starred in and wrote My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, which was released in March 2016. It earned over $60 million domestically from an $18 million budget and much more internationally and in home box office sales.
From 2015 to 2017, Vardalos and Gomez co-presented the first two seasons of The Great American Baking Show, formerly known as The Great Holiday Baking Show, for ABC-TV.[9]
In 2018, Vardalos guest-starred in an episode of The CW series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.[10]
In 2019, Vardalos starred in the drama Poisoned Love for AMC and played Faye Anderson in the ABC television holiday film Same Time, Next Christmas.[11]
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | High Incident | Uncredited | Episode: "Father Knows Best" |
| 1996 | Common Law | Uncredited | Episode: "In the Matter of, Acceptance" |
| 1997 | The Drew Carey Show | Grace Almada | Episode: "Strange Bedfellows" |
| 1997–98 | Team Knight Rider | Domino (voice) | 22 episodes |
| 1998–99 | Boy Meets World | Uncredited | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | It's Like, You Know... | Mindy | Episode: "Memories of Me" |
| 1999 | Two Guys and a Girl | Evelyn | Episode: "Career Day" |
| 2000 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Larry's Lawyer | Episode: "Interior Decorator" |
| 2002 | Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: "Nia Vardalos/Eve" |
| 2003 | My Big Fat Greek Life | Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos | Writer and executive producer; 7 episodes |
| 2008 | My Boys | Jo | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Drop Dead Diva | Lisa Shane | Episode: "What If?" |
| 2010 | The Good Guys | Eileen | Pilot episode |
| 2011 | Cougar Town | Angela Torres | Episode: "Damaged by Love" |
| 2012 | Grey's Anatomy | Karen | Episode: "Hope for the Hopeless" |
| 2013–14 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Attorney Minonna Efron | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Marry Me | Pam | Episode: "Mom Me" |
| 2015–2019 | Star vs. the Forces of Evil | Angie Diaz | Voice role; 10 episodes |
| 2015 | Jane the Virgin | Barbara Stanbrook | Episode: "Chapter Nineteen" |
| 2015 | The Great Holiday Baking Show | Co-presenter | Baking competition |
| 2016 | The Catch | Leah Wells | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Graves | Annie Spiro | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | The Great American Baking Show | Co-presenter (with then-husband Ian Gomez) | Baking competition |
| 2017 | Dr. Ken | Tiffany | Episode: "Ken's Big Audition" |
| 2018 | DuckTales | Selene | Voice role; 3 episodes |
| 2018 | Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | Wendy Legrand | Episode: "I'm On My Own Path" |
| 2019 | Same Time, Next Christmas | Faye Anderson | Television Film |
References
- "Sending up the Greek in spirit". The Age. Melbourne. October 6, 2002.
- Nia Vardalos profile, filmreference.com; accessed July 2, 2015.
- Seiler, Andy (August 28, 2002). "'Greek Wedding' marches on, much to Hollywood's surprise". USA Today. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- Nia Vardalos profile, Yahoo! Movies; accessed July 2, 2015.
- Fernandez, Alexia (September 7, 2018). "My Big Fat Greek Wedding's Nia Vardalos Settles Divorce 2 Months After Initial Filing". People. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- Nia Vardalos. "The List". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- Mike Vulpo (2018-07-03). "Nia Vardalos Files for Divorce From Ian Gomez After 23 Years of Marriage". eonline.com. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
- "Nia Vardalos". Movies. Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
- The Great American Baking Show (ABC); accessed December 9, 2016.
- Highfill, Samantha (September 2, 2018). "Get the first details on Nia Vardalos' character in Crazy-Ex Girlfriend". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- Same Time, Next Christmas (TV Movie 2019) - IMDb, retrieved 2019-11-29
- "Nia Vardalos to Reunite with John Corbett in Another Romantic Comedy". AHN, allheadlinenews.com. August 9, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
External links
- Nia Vardalos on IMDb
- Nia Vardalos's Executive Producer Profile on The 1 Second Film website
- Nia Vardalos on Charlie Rose
- Works by or about Nia Vardalos in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
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