Nia Vardalos

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Nia Vardalos

Vardalos at the Connie and Carla premiere on the Universal City Walk, Los Angeles, April 2004
Born Antonia Eugenia Vardalos
September 24, 1962 (1962-09-24) (age 47)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Years active 1996–present
Spouse(s) Ian Gomez (1993–present)

Antonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos (born September 24, 1962) is a Greek-Canadian-American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Vardalos was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She is the daughter of Greek Canadian parents Doreen, a bookkeeper and homemaker, and Constantine "Gus" Vardalos, a land developer.[1][2][3][4] She attended Shaftesbury High School and Ryerson University.[5] Vardalos married actor Ian Gomez on September 5, 1993 (her husband converted to the Greek Orthodox religion prior to marrying her). They have recently adopted a daughter, and she has written a post with advice about the adoption process at The Huffington Post.[6] She became a dual citizen of the U.S. in 1999.

[edit] Career

Vardalos had done many different works but gained almost overnight success with her movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The success of the movie led to an unsuccessful television series on CBS, called My Big Fat Greek Life. Except for John Corbett, this series featured the original movie cast. In 2004 she followed it up with Connie and Carla, which co-starred Toni Collette. Vardalos and her husband have appeared together in both of those films, as well as Meet Prince Charming (1999). Vardalos also guest starred on The Drew Carey Show in 1997, where her husband was a frequent guest star. Her next work was the movie My Life in Ruins, which arrived in theaters in 2009.

Vardalos is among many celebrities helping to produce The 1 Second Film art project.

Vardalos was featured in The Dialogue interview series. In this 90 minute interview with producer Mike DeLuca, Vardalos talks 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.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Film

Year Film Role Notes
1996 No Experience Necessary Sheila
1997 Men Seeking Women Iris
1999 Meet Prince Charming Jennifer
2002 My Big Fat Greek Wedding Toula Portokalos
2004 Connie and Carla Connie
  • also writer
2009 My Life in Ruins Georgia
  • additions to original script
I Hate Valentine's Day[7] Genevieve
  • also writer and director
2010 A Wilderness of Monkeys[8]
2012 Talk of the Town[9]

[edit] Television

Year Show Role Notes
1996 High Incident uncredited
  • 1 episode - "Father Knows Best"
Common Law uncredited
  • 1 episode - "In the Matter of, Acceptance"
1997 Men Seeking Women Iris
The Drew Carey Show Grace Almada
  • 1 episode - "Strange Bedfellows"
1997 - 1998 Team Knight Rider Domino (voice)
  • appeared in 22 episodes
1998 - 1999 Boy Meets World uncredited
  • 2 episodes - "You're Married, You're Dead" (1998) and "Can I Help to Cheer You" (1999)
1999 It's Like, You Know... Mindy
  • 1 episode - "Memories of Me"
Two Guys and a Girl Evelyn
  • 1 episode - "Career Day"
2000 Curb Your Enthusiasm Larry's Lawyer
  • 1 episode - "Interior Decorator"
2002 Saturday Night Live Host
2003 My Big Fat Greek Life Nia Portokalos
  • writer and executive producer
  • 7 episodes
2008 My Boys Jo
  • 3 episodes - "Spit Take," "Take My Work Wife...Please," and "Dudes Being Dudes"
2009 Drop Dead Diva Lisa Shane
  • 1 episode

[edit] References

  1. ^ Greek goddess: but it wasn't always that way. Once told she was too frumpy to be a star, Nia Vardalos proves them wrong. | Redbook (April , 2003)
  2. ^ Sending up the Greek in spirit - theage.com.au
  3. ^ Nia Vardalos Biography (1962-)
  4. ^ USATODAY.com - 'Greek Wedding' marches on, much to Hollywood's surprise
  5. ^ Nia Vardalos Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  6. ^ Nia Vardalos. "The List". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nia-vardalos/the-list_b_161241.html. Retrieved 2009-01-28. 
  7. ^ Nia Vardalos To Reunite With John Corbett In Another Romantic Comedy | AHN | August 9, 2008
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ [2]

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nia_Vardalos"