Antonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos (Greek: Αντωνία Ευγενία "Νία" Βαρντάλου; born September 24, 1962) is a Greek Canadian actress, director, producer and screenwriter.
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.
Last year Nia Vardalos has paid loving tribute to co-star Michael Constantine following the news of his death, aged 94.
The late actor took on the role of Gus Portokalos, father to Vardalos's character Toula Portokalos, who was famous for his obsession over Windex and belief that it is a cure-all.
Constantine's family confirmed that he passed away on August 31 in his home in Reading, Pennsylvania, and had been ill for some time.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3
Written by and starring Second City alumnus Nia Vardalos, this rom-com sleeper hit is centered on a Greek-American woman who falls for an Anglo-American.
Everyone in the Portokalos family worries about Toula (Vardalos). Still unmarried at thirty years old, she works at Dancing Zorba's, the Greek restaurant owned by her parents, Gus (Michael Constantine) and Maria (Lainie Kazan). After taking a job at her aunt's travel agency, she falls in love with Ian Miller (John Corbett), a teacher who is tall, handsome and definitely not Greek. Toula struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity.
The original My Big Fat Greek Wedding directed by Joel Zwick, tells the story of Fotoula “Toula” Portokalos played by Vardalos, a young Greek-American woman who falls in love with Ian Miller, a non-Greek man played by John Corbett.
Against the wishes of her parents, Toula agrees to marry him and the two are saddled with the challenge of getting her family to accept him while being true to her roots and preparing for their upcoming wedding. Produced with a $5 million budget, My Big Fat Greek Wedding went on to gross a very impressive $368.7 million at the box office.
Plot details for the third run in the franchise have been kept under wraps for now but there are some familiar faces set to return. In a separate post on Instagram, Vardalos shared an image that confirmed the return of much of the original cast for the third run including Corbett, Gia Carides, Joey Fatone, Louis Mandylor, and Andrea Martin. Michael Constantine who plays Gus, Vardalos’ father in the film sadly passed away in 2021 and would not be part of the film. Now that filming is wrapped, we expect to hear more from Vardalos soon.
From all your fans around the world happy birthday Nia.
