Nia Vardalos

Antonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos (; born September 24, 1962) is an Greek Canadian actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She is best known for starring in and writing the romantic comedy film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002), 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.
Early and personal life.
Vardalos was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on September 24, 1962. She 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. She attended St. George School and Shaftesbury High School in Winnipeg and Ryerson University in Toronto. 
She married the American actor Ian Gomez in September 1993. They adopted a daughter in 2009. In 2013, Vardalos wrote a book about the experience, New York Times bestseller INSTANT MOM, and donates all proceeds to adoption groups. To date, social workers estimate the information from the book has placed 1700 children in permanent homes. Vardalos also posted an advice column about the adoption process in "The Huffington Post." It was announced on July 3, 2018, that Vardalos had filed for divorce from Gomez after 23 years of marriage and that they had already been separated since June 2017 because their relationship had turned into a friendship.
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 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." 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.
Her next film she wrote, starred in and sang and danced in, released in 2004, was "Connie and Carla," is a cult-hit musical about two women pretending to be drag queens.
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 on only a limited release grossed $1,985,260 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; 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. The film was a commercial success, grossing $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. The play received outstanding reviews and is the New York Times Critic's Pick. Vardalos reprised her role in 2017 in another sold-out run at The Public, and again at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. Published by Samuel French, the play was quickly licensed by many theaters and is on the list of Top Ten Most Produced Plays.
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's struggle to become a mother, made its way into a book she wrote, "Instant Mom," which was published in 2013 and is a New York Times bestseller. She continues to donate all proceeds to adoption groups.
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 and much more internationally and in home box office sales. 
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 she played the role of poisoner Stacey Castor in the tv movie "Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story".