Biography
Actress Rita Wilson has played supporting and leading roles on television and in feature films. Her first TV work was the recurring role of Nurse Lacey on the long-running CBS sitcom M*A*S*H. An athletic beauty, Wilson had leading roles in two short-lived series,
The Cheerleaders (1976) and
The Beach Girls (1977). She made her film debut in Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (1978). Though she could have continued her career playing fluffy roles, Wilson had higher aspirations and accepted an invitation to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. When not studying, Wilson honed her dramatic skills at the Macowan Theatre in London. Upon her return to the U.S., Wilson co-starred with
Tom Hanks in
Volunteers (1985). A romance flowered between the two and they married three years later. In 1993, Wilson played one of her best-known roles, that of Suzy, the girl who falls to pieces while describing the movie
An Affair to Remember in
Sleepless in Seattle. Wilson had a rare starring role opposite
Arnold Schwarzenegger in the holiday comedy
Jingle All the Way (1996). Wilson has subsequently divided her time between films and television work, appearing in Hanks' feature directorial debut That Thing You Do! (1996) as well as such popular sitcoms as
Mad About You and
Frasier in addition to the acclaimed Hanks-produced miniseries
From the Earth to the Moon. After a turn in
Gus Van Sant's remake of
Psycho, Wilson could be seen in such romantic comedy/dramas as
Runaway Bride and
The Story of Us before her role as
Leelee Sobieski's ill-fated mother in
The Glass House (2001). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide