Nia Vardalos

Nia Vardalos is a Canadian actress, screenwriter and director, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1962 to Greek-Canadian parents. A graduate of Chicago's Second City comedy company, she turned her one-woman stage show into the 2002 romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which she wrote and starred in. The film earned her an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay and became one of the highest-grossing independent films of all time, spawning a media franchise. She made her directorial debut in 2009 with I Hate Valentine's Day, co-wrote the Tom Hanks film Larry Crowne, wrote and starred in the 2016 sequel, and directed and wrote My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 in 2023. She has also written for the stage and created an audio comedy podcast, Motivated!.