What is Nia Vardalos's Net Worth?
Nia Vardalos is an actress, director, and screenwriter who has a net worth of $8 million. Nia Vardalos is best known as the star and writer of the hit 2002 romantic comedy film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." She also wrote and starred in the television sitcom "My Big Fat Greek Life," a continuation of the film, and starred in and wrote the film's sequels "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3," also directing the latter. Vardalos's other film credits include "My Life in Ruins," "I Hate Valentine's Day," and "Helicopter Mom."
Early Life and Education
Nia Vardalos was born as Antonia Vardalos on September 24, 1962 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada to Greek-Canadian parents Doreen and Gus. Her mother worked as a bookkeeper, while her father was involved in land development. Vardalos was educated at St. George School and Shaftesbury High School as a youth. For her higher education, she earned her BFA from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario.
Career Beginnings
Vardalos began her professional acting career with the Second City improv group in Chicago, Illinois. With the group, she wrote and performed in multiple sketch comedy revues and won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actress.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
After appearing in the films "No Experience Necessary," "Men Seeking Women," and "Meet Prince Charming" in the latter half of the 1990s, Vardalos had her career breakthrough as the writer and star of the romantic comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," released in 2002. She played Toula Portokalos, a 34-year-old Greek-American woman whose romance with a non-Greek man, played by John Corbett, causes tension in her large and boisterous family. The film was a major sleeper hit that grew steadily in the months following its limited release, ending its box-office run with $368.7 million on a budget of $5 million. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was also a substantial critical success, earning Vardalos an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.
The huge success of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" resulted in a media franchise. In 2003, Vardalos wrote and starred in the CBS television sitcom "My Big Fat Greek Life," a continuation of the film. Although the show premiered to high ratings, its popularity quickly declined and it was canceled after seven episodes. After a long time away from the franchise, Vardalos returned to write and star in the sequel film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2," which came out in 2016. The film performed decently, but was unable to match either the critical or commercial success of the first film. Vardalos later wrote, directed, and starred in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3," released in 2023. The film focuses on the family reunion trip of the Portokalos family in Greece.
Further Film Career
After "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," Vardalos wrote and starred in the 2004 comedy "Connie and Carla," about two women posing as drag queens. She played Connie, and Toni Collette played Carla. Vardalos had her next film role in the 2009 romantic comedy "My Life in Ruins," which brought her back to Greece. She starred alongside Richard Dreyfuss, Alexis Georgoulis, and Rachel Dratch, among others. Also in 2009, Vardalos made her directorial debut with the romantic comedy "I Hate Valentine's Day"; she also wrote and starred in the film, appearing opposite her "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" costar John Corbett.
In 2011, Vardalos cowrote the romantic comedy "Larry Crowne" with that film's star, Tom Hanks. Although she didn't appear in the film, she provided the voice of Map Genie. Vardalos went on to appear in the comedy "For a Good Time, Call…," the family drama "An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars," and Jeff Garlin's "Dealin' with Idiots." In 2014, she starred as the titular overbearing mother of a sexually undecided teenager in the comedy "Helicopter Mom." The following year, Vardalos was in the drama "Car Dogs." Her other credits include the animated musical "Charming" and the horror comedy "The Curse of Bridge Hollow."
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Television Career
Early in her television career, Vardalos appeared in an episode of "The Drew Carey Show." From 1997 to 1998, she voiced the character Domino in the action crime series "Team Knight Rider," based on the "Knight Rider" franchise. Vardalos subsequently had guest roles on the sitcoms "Boy Meets World," "It's Like, You Know…," and "Two Guys and a Girl." Commencing the new millennium, she appeared as a lawyer in an episode of the sitcom "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Five years after the cancellation of her own sitcom, "My Big Fat Greek Life," Vardalos had a three-episode role on the sitcom "My Boys." Following that, she made guest appearances on "Drop Dead Diva," "The Good Guys," "Cougar Town," and "Grey's Anatomy." From 2013 to 2014, Vardalos played Attorney Minonna Efron on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." She had her next substantial role from 2015 to 2019, voicing Angie Diaz in the Disney animated series "Star vs. the Forces of Evil."
In 2015, Vardalos hosted the cooking competition show "The Great Holiday Baking Show"; she returned to host the second season in 2016, entitled "The Great American Baking Show." Also in 2016, she starred in the first season of the comedy series "Graves," and had a recurring role in the first season of the ABC dramedy "The Catch." Over the subsequent years, Vardalos appeared in episodes of "Dr. Ken" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." In 2019, she starred in the television film "Same Time, Next Christmas," and in 2020 starred in the television film "Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story." Vardalos has since appeared in episodes of the series "Station 19," "Love, Victor," and "Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities."
Other Projects
Beyond film and television, Vardalos adapted Cheryl Strayed's book "Tiny Beautiful Things" into a play in 2016. She also starred in the production, which originally played at the Public Theater in New York before being licensed by many other theaters.
Among her other projects, Vardalos teamed up with actor and comedian Rob Riggle to write and star in the comedy podcast "Motivated!" Created for Audible and Broadway Video, it was released in 2022.
Personal Life
In 1993, Vardalos wed actor Ian Gomez. The pair tried for nine years to conceive a child through IVF and surrogacy before adopting a daughter named Ilaria in 2008. Vardalos went on to write a bestselling book entitled "Instant Mom" about her experiences with adoption. In 2017, she and Gomez separated, and the following year they filed for divorce.
Real Estate
In 2004 Nia paid $2.1 million for a home in Los Angeles. She listed this home for sale in 2014 for $3.6 million. She accepted $3.775 million in January 2015.
