Rita Wilson

Rita Wilson (born October 26, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and producer. She appeared in films Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Now and Then (1995), Jingle All the Way (1996), The Story of Us (1999) and Runaway Bride (1999). Wilson also performed on Broadway and television, and produced several films, including My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).

Early life

Rita Wilson was born as Margarita Ibrahimoff (Bulgarian: Маргарита Ибрахимова; Greek: Μαργαρίτα Ιμπραΐμοφ) in Los Angeles, California. Her mother was Greek, born and raised in Sotire near Dropull i Sipërm (Greek: Άνω Δρόπολις, Ano Dropolis) in Albania, near the border of Greece. Her father, Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff (March 21, 1920 – March 6, 2009), was a Pomak (Bulgarian Muslim), born in Breshtene in the province of Western Thrace, Greece. Western Thrace came into being as a result of World War I, the Treaty of Neuilly in 1919, and the San Remo conference in 1920, when it shifted from Bulgaria to Greece. Her father's half-brother Ferhat lives in Bulgaria. Wilson's father moved to the United States on May 4, 1949. Her father changed his name from Hassan Ibrahimoff to Allan Wilson in 1960, choosing his name after a local street. Rita was raised in the Greek Orthodox faith. Her father in addition to his Bulgarian could speak "Russian, Turkish, Polish, Greek, little a bit of Italian, little a bit of French" according to Rita'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.