Antonia Eugenia Vardalos was born on September 24,1962 and is a Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter.
20 Facts About Nia Vardalos
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Nia Vardalos 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.
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Nia Vardalos attended St George School and Shaftesbury High School in Winnipeg and Ryerson University in Toronto.
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An alumna of the Chicago-based Second City comedy repertory company, Nia Vardalos wrote and performed in over ten revues of sketch comedy and won Chicago's Joseph Jefferson award for Best Actress.
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Nia 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.
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Nia Vardalos gained fame with her movie about a woman's struggle to find love in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
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Nia Vardalos hosted Saturday Night Live in the fall of 2002.
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Nia Vardalos made her directorial debut in 2009 with the independent feature I Hate Valentine's Day.
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The film was the first American production given permission to film at the Acropolis; Nia Vardalos personally sought the approval from the Greek government and credits her years of Greek School for helping her be fluent in the language.
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In 2011, Nia Vardalos collaborated with Tom Hanks to write the romantic comedy film Larry Crowne for the screen.
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The film was a commercial success, grossing $59.8 million; Nia Vardalos voiced the character Map Genie in the film.
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In 2016, Nia 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.
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Nia Vardalos joined many celebrities helping to produce The 1 Second Film art project; she herself was featured in The Dialogue, an interview series.
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Nia Vardalos starred in and wrote My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, which was released in March 2016.
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In 2018, Nia Vardalos guest-starred in an episode of The CW series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
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In 2019, Nia Vardalos played Faye Anderson in the ABC television holiday film Same Time, Next Christmas.
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Nia Vardalos was scheduled to reprise her role as Toula Portakalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 in which she will serve as director and screenwriter.
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In 2013, Nia Vardalos wrote a book about the experience, a New York Times bestseller she titled Instant Mom, and she donates all the proceeds from its royalties to adoption groups.
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Nia Vardalos posted an advice column about the adoption process in The Huffington Post.
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On July 3,2018, it was announced that Nia Vardalos had filed for divorce from Gomez after 23 years of marriage, and that they had already been separated since June of 2017.