Rita Wilson was born as Margarita Ibrahimoff in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Dorothea Genkos, was Greek, born and raised in Sotirë near Dropull i Sipërm in Albania, close to the border of Greece. Her father, Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff was a Pomak (Bulgarian Muslim) born in Breshtene (Oraio), Greece, close to the border of Bulgaria. Wilson\'s father moved from Bulgaria to the United States in 1949. He converted from Islam to Orthodox Christianity upon his marriage and changed his name to Allan Wilson in 1960, choosing his name after a local street. Rita was raised in the Greek Orthodox faith. Her father in addition to Bulgarian could speak "Russian, Turkish, Polish, Greek, a little bit of Italian, a little bit of French" according to Rita\'s husband Tom Hanks, who said he modeled his portrayal of the character Viktor Navorski in the film The Terminal on his father-in-law.\n', '

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 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. She has appeared in numerous movies, including Volunteers, Teen Witch, 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.\n', '

She played Susan Borman, wife of astronaut Frank Borman, in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. On television, she guest starred in many television series, including Frasier, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Good Wife, Body of Proof, and Girls.\n', '

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