Nia Vardalos Actress - Born 24 September 1962 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Birth Name Antonia Eugenia Vardalos

Height 5' 6" (1.68 m)

Mini Bio (1) Nia Vardalos was born on September 24, 1962 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada as Antonia Eugenia Vardalos. She is an actress and writer, known for My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016) and Connie and Carla (2004). She was previously married to Ian Gomez.

Spouse (1) Ian Gomez (5 September 1993 - 7 September 2018) divorced 1 child Adopted F1. Illaria (born 2007) in 2008.

(July 3, 2018) Filed for divorce from her husband of nearly 25 years Ian Gomez following a 12-month-long separation.

Married NY-born TV actor Ian Gomez in Winnipeg's St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church.

Named after her grandmothers Eugenia and Antonia.

Her one-woman play "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was turned into a movie after Rita Wilson saw the play and recommended it to her husband Tom Hanks.

Graduated From Ryerson University's School Of Acting

Is an alumna of The Second City.

Became a naturalized U.S. citizen on April 20, 1999.

She and her ex-husband Ian Gomez adopted a little girl named Illaria (b. 2007) in 2008.

She was nominated for a 1994 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actress in a Revue for "Whitewater for Chocolate", at the Second City Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

Once worked the box office at Toronto's Second City.

Her parents are both of Greek descent.

Nia and her Connie and Carla (2004) co-star, Toni Collette, have the same full first name, Antonia.

(July 3, 2018) Filed for divorce from her husband of nearly 25 years Ian Gomez following a 12-month-long separation.

You're never too fat for a new purse.

I'd been raised by my parents who taught me not to think you're better than you are. And that I think is what Larry Crowne is going through. [He] will do anything to make a living, and that is indicative I think globally, and much more so in this country. People are just trying to get by. There's a relevance to 'Larry Crowne' that's fortunate and unfortunate. This is not a downer movie, this is an uplifting movie and yet it is not out of the realm of ordinary. It's what can happen if you keep your heart open.

When I worked at 'Second City' in Canada, they brought me down to Chicago on a work permit. I was thrilled to be in Chicago. What I didn't know is that you only make $65 a show. I was a child of immigrants, so everyone worked. I had a job at 16. And although I didn't like that I'm very, very grateful for that now because it taught me to be self-supporting. It's not like suddenly, when you become a working actor all your friends are in the same situation. I have friends who are still handing out flyers for their one-woman show and trying to make ends meet.

[on her stint as a "caterer" for a student porn film spoof] My friend asked me if I wanted to be in the film, and I said, 'No, but I'll come and make food for everybody - because I'm so very Greek.' So I came and, as a joke, she gave me the credit of 'caterer' and now it's on my credits forever. People think it was a real porn flick, and I really was a caterer.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) $150,000 (acting)

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) $10,000,000 (profit participation)

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) $61,000 (writing)