Film, television, theater Post–
60th Primetime Emmy Awards Party in 2008 Wilson's career began with a guest appearance on
The Brady Bunch in the 1972 episode "Greg's Triangle", where she played Pat Conway, one of the candidates running against
Marcia Brady for head cheerleader. She also twice appeared on
M*A*S*H in 1982 as Nurse Lacey as well as the sitcoms ''
Three's Company and Bosom Buddies starring her future husband Tom Hanks, and as Hester Rose Crane, the deceased mother of Frasier Crane on Frasier''. In the 1980s, Wilson attended the
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in England. She has appeared in numerous films, including
Volunteers,
Barbarians at the Gate,
The Bonfire of the Vanities,
Mixed Nuts,
Sleepless in Seattle,
Now and Then,
That Thing You Do!,
Jingle All the Way,
Runaway Bride,
Invisible Child,
The Story of Us,
Raise Your Voice, ''
It's Complicated, and Larry Crowne''. On television, she played Susan Borman, wife of astronaut
Frank Borman, in the HBO miniseries
From the Earth to the Moon. She guest starred in many series, including
Curb Your Enthusiasm,
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and
Body of Proof, and had recurring roles on
The Good Wife and
Girls. which became the highest-grossing independent film of all time and for which she served as a producer. Wilson produced two stage productions of the play as they were developing the film. A sequel,
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, which Wilson co-produced and in which she had a supporting role, was released in 2016. Wilson's Greek heritage was honored in 2016 when the Greek Postal Service ELTA commemorated her with a stamp along with four others: filmmaker
Costa-Gavras, engineer and entrepreneur
Peter Diamandis, journalist
George Stephanopoulos, and billionaire businessman
John Catsimatidis. In 2008, Wilson produced the film
Mamma Mia!, and eight years later its sequel,
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. In 2006, Wilson made her
Broadway debut when she performed the role of Roxie Hart in a revival of
Chicago. In 2015, she starred in
Larry David's
Fish in the Dark on Broadway, from which she took a month-long hiatus to undergo a
double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery after being diagnosed with
breast cancer. She originated the role of "Mama" in the world premier of
Lisa Loomer's play,
Distracted, at the
Mark Taper Forum, also in Los Angeles, in 2007. Wilson played various roles in
Nora and
Delia Ephron's play
Love, Loss, and What I Wore in 2009. She reprised the roles in the Los Angeles production at the Geffen in 2010. In March 2020, while filming
Elvis in Australia, Hanks announced through his
Instagram profile that the couple had contracted
COVID-19 and were experiencing minor symptoms. They were admitted to the
Gold Coast University Hospital before being returned to quarantine. On March 27, Wilson and her husband returned home to Los Angeles after they recovered from the virus. The couple donated their blood antibodies for virus research. Wilson produced the film
A Man Called Otto, initially released in December 2022. Wilson became interested in producing the film after watching
A Man Called Ove, the Swedish film upon which
A Man Called Otto is based. The film was sold to
Sony Pictures in February 2022 for $60 million, at that time the largest deal to date at the virtual European Film Market. In December, Wilson launched her
production company Artistic Films, with
A Man Called Otto as the company's first project.
Music Wilson's debut solo album
AM/FM was released on May 8, 2012, on
Decca Records. The album featured classics from the 1960s and 70s, including a cover of "
Wichita Lineman" that she performed with the song's writer-composer
Jimmy Webb. She also performed a duet of "All I Have To Do Is Dream" with former
Soundgarden and
Audioslave musician
Chris Cornell. Additional harmonies on the album are performed by
Faith Hill,
Sheryl Crow,
Vince Gill, and
Patti Scialfa (who also produced the track "Come See About Me" with
Ron Aniello). At the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, DC, on December 4, 2014, she performed for President
Barack Obama and First Lady
Michelle Obama, and served as co-host of the event. In 2014, Wilson wrote the song "Bad Things" with
Matt Nathanson, for the
Scott Eastwood film
Dawn Patrol, in which she also starred. In 2016, Wilson released her self-titled album. She co-wrote each song on
Rita Wilson with
Kara DioGuardi,
Dan Wilson,
Jason Reeves,
Darrell Brown,
Lauren Christy,
Mikal Blue,
Nathan Chapman,
Jason Wade, Stephanie Chapman, Ron Aniello, Jillian Jacqueline,
Jessi Alexander, JR Randall, Yugomir Lonich, Blair Daly, and Kelly Archer. The song "Strong Tonight" was also performed by
Connie Britton in an episode of the
ABC television show
Nashville. To support the release of
Rita Wilson, she opened on a tour with
Chicago; she has said she is a lifelong fan of the band. Also in 2018, Wilson performed "Heart Unknown", co-written with
Josh Alexander, DioGuardi, and
Mozella, for the indie film,
Simple Wedding. In addition, she performed "Sometimes Love", co-written with
David Hodges, for the independent film
Emmett, in which she also stars. On March 29, 2019, Wilson released her fourth album,
Halfway to Home, which included "Throw Me a Party", a song inspired by her survival from breast cancer. Other songs were created during a writing workshop that partnered her with Mozella, Mitch Allan, DioGuardi,
Liz Rose and Kristian Bush.
Halfway to Home was co-produced by Nathan Chapman. "
Halfway to Home finds Wilson pulling from musical traditions that revere deep storytelling (Southern California rock, classic Nashville country), which was a hallmark for her growing up," explained
Rolling Stone. Over the course of her music career, Wilson has performed her songs on
Ellen,
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,
The Late Late Show with James Corden,
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and
Today. In March 2020, after she and husband
Tom Hanks contracted the coronavirus while filming in Australia and in self-quarantine and going "stir crazy", she filmed an Instagram video showing her rapping the
Naughty by Nature song, "
Hip Hop Hooray". The video went viral and reached Naughty by Nature's Vin Rock. After she had fully recovered from virus, the two teamed up for a "Hip Hop Hooray" remix to benefit the
MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. In July 2020, Wilson appeared on
Jimmie Allen's
Bettie James EP, collaborating on the song "When This Is Over" with
Tauren Wells and
The Oak Ridge Boys. In October 2020, Wilson was featured on the single "Pink" alongside
Dolly Parton,
Monica,
Jordin Sparks and
Sara Evans. The single was released in aid of
Breast Cancer Research. In 2021 she contributed to the
Blues Traveler rendition of "Crazy" on their album "Traveler’s Blues". On August 24, 2022, Wilson announced her duets album
Now & Forever, a collection of 1970s covers with male vocalists. Co-produced by Wilson and
Matt Rollings, the album features
Willie Nelson,
Keith Urban, and
Elvis Costello among other guests. The album, which was preceded by three singles (including "Songbird" which she performed with
Josh Groban at
Radio City Music Hall in April) was released on September 27. The album was nominated for Self-Released Record of the Year at the
2023 Libera Awards. In December 2023, Barack Obama featured Wilson's song "
Crazy Love" with Keith Urban on his list of favorite songs of the year. In 2022, Wilson collaborated with
Sebastián Yatra on the single "
Til You're Home" from the soundtrack to
A Man Called Otto. in March 2023 On March 29, 2023, Wilson attended the
White House's Greek Independence Day celebration, alongside other prominent
Greek-Americans. Wilson led the event's cultural program, performing four songs.
Journalism Wilson has been a contributing editor to ''
Harper's Bazaar magazine, writing over twenty-one articles. She also started, and was Editor-at-Large of, a section of The Huffington Post called Huff/Post50, which explored issues and topics relative to people over fifty years old. She has also written for O, The Oprah Magazine''. == Personal life ==