Nia Vardalos

Antonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos (born September 24, 1962) is a Canadian actress and screenwriter. She starred in and wrote the romantic comedy film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which garnered her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, and which went on to spawn a media franchise.

Early life Vardalos was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on September 24, 1962. She attended St. George School and Shaftesbury High School in Winnipeg and Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto.

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. First performed as a one-woman show of the same name, 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 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.

The next film she starred in, which she also wrote, and in which she also sang and danced, was Connie and Carla (2004) about two women pretending to be drag queens. (The plot has been compared to that of Some Like It Hot, the 1959 American romantic comedy film by Billy Wilder, in that the female leads of Connie and Carla were hiding from criminals whose crimes they had witnessed and who could still kill both of them had they been found.)

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 grossed $1,985,260 on a limited release 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 of Athens; 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, which grossed $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. Vardalos reprised her role in 2017 at The Public, and again at the Pasadena Playhouse in California.

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 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.

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.

In 2018, Vardalos guest-starred in an episode of The CW series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

In 2019, Vardalos played Faye Anderson in the ABC television holiday film Same Time, Next Christmas. In 2020, in what was, for her, a rare turn to both dramatic acting and a portrayal of a real person, she played convicted poisoner Stacey Castor in the made-for-television movie Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story, which Lifetime Television transmitted.

In September 2022, Vardalos, along with comedian Rob Riggle, created, wrote, and starred in the 10 episode comedy podcast Motivated! for Audible Original and Broadway Video.

In 2023, Vardalos reprised her role as Toula Portakalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 for which she served as director and screenwriter. That same year, she guest starred in the midseason finale of the first part of season three of the television series Chucky as Evelyn Elliot, a fellow death row inmate in Texas.

Personal life In September 1993, Vardalos married American actor Ian Gomez. After trying for nine years to conceive through IVF and surrogacy, Vardalos and Gomez adopted their child in 2008. At the time the child was three years old and part of the foster care system. In 2013, Vardalos wrote a book about the experience, a New York Times bestseller she titled Instant Mom, and she donated all the proceeds from its royalties to adoption groups. Vardalos also wrote an advice column about the adoption process in The Huffington Post.

On July 3, 2018, it was announced that Vardalos had filed for divorce from Gomez after 25 years of marriage. The couple separated in June 2017.

Filmography Film Year Title 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 Also writer As writer:American Screenwriters Association Award - Discover Screenwriting AwardWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Original ScreenplayNominated - Academy Award for Best Original ScreenplayNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best WriterNominated - London Film Critics' Circle Award for Screenwriter of the YearNominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Original ScreenplayNominated - Satellite Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayNominated - Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original ScreenplayAs actress:Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut PerformancePhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best NewcomerNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy or MusicalNominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated - Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated - MTV Movie Award for Female Breakthrough PerformanceNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 2004 Connie and Carla Connie Also writer 2006 Greece: Secrets of the Past Narrator Short documentary film 2009 My Life in Ruins Georgia Yanokoupolis I Hate Valentine's Day Genevieve Also writer and director 2011 Larry Crowne Map Genie (voice) Also joint screenwriter with Tom Hanks2012 For a Good Time, Call... Rachel Rodman An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars Mrs. Brooks 2013 Dealin' with Idiots Ava Morris 2014 Helicopter Mom Maggie 2015 Car Dogs Sharon 2016 My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 Toula Portokalos Also writer 2018 Charming Nemeny Neverwish (voice) 2019 Wonder Woman: Bloodlines Julia Kapatelis (voice) 2022 The Curse of Bridge Hollow Madam Hawthorne 2023 My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 Toula Portokalos Also writer and director 2026 You, Me & Tuscany Mrs. Dunn Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes1996 High IncidentUncredited Episode: "Father Knows Best" Common Law Episode: "In the Matter of, Acceptance" 1997 The Drew Carey Show Grace Almada Episode: "Strange Bedfellows" 1997–1998 Team Knight Rider Domino (voice) 22 episodes 1998–1999 Boy Meets World Miss Gallagher (uncredited) 2 episodes1999 It's Like, You Know... Mindy Episode: "Memories of Me" 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 Nia 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" 2013–2026 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Attorney Minonna Efron 5 episodes 2015–2019 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Angie Diaz Recurring voice role; 10 episodes 2015 Marry Me Pam Episode: "Mom Me" Jane the Virgin Barbara Stanbrook Episode: "Chapter Nineteen" The Great Holiday Baking Show Co-presenter Baking competition 2016 The Catch Leah Wells 3 episodes Graves Annie Spiro 7 episodes2016–2017 The Great American Baking Show Co-presenter (with Ian Gomez) Baking competition 2017 Dr. Ken Tiffany Episode: "Ken's Big Audition" 2018–2020 DuckTales Selene Voice role; 4 episodes 2018 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Wendy Legrand Episode: "I'm On My Own Path" 2019 Same Time, Next Christmas Faye Anderson Television film 2020 Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story Stacey Castor 2021 Station 19 Patricia Episode: "100% or Nothing" 2022 Love, Victor Theresa Episode: "Fast Times At Creekwood High" Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities Madame Levine Episode: "Dreams in the Witch House" 2023 Chucky Evelyn Elliot Episode: "Dressed to Kill" 2025 Mickey Mouse Funhouse Sally Sphinx Voice, episode: "Mickey and the Cozy Fleece"

Stage Year Title Role Venue Ref. 1982 The Music Man Performer Rainbow Stage, Winnipeg 1984 Kismet Ayah Rainbow Stage, Winnipeg 1998 My Big Fat Greek Wedding Performer Globe Theatre, Los Angeles 2014 Company Jenny Theatre 20, Toronto 2016 Tiny Beautiful Things Sugar The Public Theater, Off-Broadway 2017 2019 Pasadena Playhouse, Los Angeles 2025 Pen Pals Bernadette Theatre at St. Clements, Off-Broadway