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Why You Don't See This My Big Fat Greek Wedding Actress Anymore
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00:00With the massive success of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Nia Vardalos seemed to be on the
00:05path to superstardom.
00:07However, Vardalos' journey to Hollywood has been less than smooth.
00:10Here's why you don't see the writer and actor much anymore.
00:14My Big Fat Greek Wedding was such a huge success that a sitcom based on the movie was instantly
00:19greenlit.
00:20However, it would seem that My Big Fat Greek Wedding wasn't quite right for television.
00:25Fans of the movie may even have no clue that a CBS sitcom called My Big Fat Greek Life
00:30even existed in 2003.
00:32The series garnered poor reviews, with a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
00:36The critics' consensus reads,
00:38The honeymoon swiftly sours in My Big Fat Greek Life,
00:41which swaps the earthy charm of its big-screen predecessor for a derivative
00:45adherence to sitcom cliches.
00:47In the end, the show only made it to seven episodes.
00:50An Entertainment Weekly article outlined alleged problems on set,
00:54and reported,
00:55Nia Vardalos marched off the set and begged a CBS honcho to cancel her comedy.
01:00That was about the only thing she and the network ever agreed on.
01:04Still, it couldn't have been easy for the star to see this television adaptation flop so quickly.
01:09It's like you're peering into my soul.
01:13Following her short-lived sitcom, Vardalos would go on to take a substantial
01:17personal break from showbiz while looking to expand her family.
01:20She wrote about her road to motherhood in her 2013 book Instant Mom, which details the process
01:25of adopting her daughter with then-husband Ian Gomez after going through 13 rounds of IVF.
01:31In an interview with Chatelaine, Vardalos said,
01:34"...I think parenthood in general isn't an easy transition. I didn't want to sugarcoat adoption
01:39or just being a mom. I had such a fairytale vision in my head before adopting. But the
01:43reality of it was so completely the opposite that I thought, I have to write about it."
01:4814 years is a long wait for a movie sequel,
01:51and Nia Vardalos knows that. The actor and creator has spoken freely about why 2016's
01:56My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 took so long to materialize. In a virtual Los Angeles Greek
02:02Film Festival masterclass, Vardalos revealed that becoming a mother delayed her return to
02:06the role that made her famous. Vardalos noted,
02:09"...it really is why I disappeared from screens, from theaters, for approximately five to eight years.
02:14I was in the pursuit of motherhood, and it was really hard."
02:17However, the space between these movies had an artistic purpose, too. Vardalos told Today,
02:23"...the wait is entirely my fault. I wanted to wait until motherhood."
02:27Nia Vardalos doesn't bow to Hollywood norms, and navigating Hollywood hasn't been easy for her.
02:32During a 2020 masterclass for the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, she revealed that she was
02:37told that her career would be limited, as she didn't look like a stereotypical Hollywood actor.
02:42"...the theater school teacher told me that I was limited."
02:45The actor was surprised to learn that her appearance as a Greek person could affect her
02:50opportunities in showbiz, but she took a theater school teacher's advice and began writing based
02:54on her experiences. That's when My Big Fat Greek Wedding was born. She explained to The Hollywood
02:59Reporter when Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, and Gary Getzman said,
03:03"...we're going to make this movie. The audacity that I had to say,
03:06I want to play the bride. That is the same tenacity I carried over into adoption."
03:10The Hollywood Reporter asked her about the changing rom-com genre,
03:14and Vardalos was glad to see its evolution, saying,
03:17"...I fought so hard not to wear makeup in the opening scenes. I don't even have moisturizer
03:21on. We're breaking the rules, and that's a great thing."
03:24Unfortunately, breaking the rules hasn't always been celebrated in the entertainment industry,
03:29which could make it challenging to keep reaching My Big Fat Greek Wedding's height of success.
03:33As Vardalos said on Busy Phillips' podcast,
03:36"...I still struggle. I still have difficulties. I get offered every Greek role that's ever been written,
03:41and little else."
03:42Nia Vardalos married fellow actor Ian Gomez in 1993, before either entertainer had become
03:48well-known in Hollywood. However, after 24 years of marriage, the couple quietly separated in 2017,
03:54and Vardalos eventually filed for divorce the following year, citing irreconcilable differences.
03:59At the time, Vardalos and Gomez jointly told People,
04:02"...we've been respectfully separated for a lengthy period of time. Our relationship became a friendship,
04:08so the decision to end the marriage is completely mutual and amicable. It is our hope that decency
04:13will prevail on the reporting of this story, which will soon be yesterday's news. Thank you
04:17for respecting our privacy."
04:19Understandably, this change in marital status may have led to Nia Vardalos focusing more on
04:24her family life than her Hollywood prospects. Nia Vardalos previously expressed to Chatelaine
04:30that in writing Instant Mom, she wanted to offer readers information, not advice.
04:34"...I heard myself announced as an adoption advocate, and even though I would say it about
04:38myself before, I actually heard it for the first time last week and I went,
04:42wait a minute, I actually feel that I am a spreader of information about adoption,
04:46but I'm also a personal happiness advocate because we only have one chance at this life."
04:51She elaborated by saying,
04:53So if not having children is your personal bliss, great. If trying IVF over the 13 times that I did
04:59is what will make you happy, great. And if adoption is what will make you happy, great.
05:03We imagine that people who are a part of foster care and adoption communities
05:07must appreciate Vardalos' candor, but fans outside of those communities
05:11might have no idea that the celebrity is making such an impact.
05:15The coronavirus pandemic undeniably altered life for everyone, including Hollywood stars.
05:21Nia Vardalos used Instagram to address collective anxiety around the pandemic. In a May 2021 video,
05:27the star said,
05:28I know that we're all wondering, is this ever going to end?
05:31She added,
05:32You're not alone. I feel the same way. I am an optimist. I do think everything is going to be okay.
05:38During this time, Vardalos kept very busy working as a volunteer, helping out at vaccine sites and
05:43putting together meals for medical staff, volunteers, and police through World Central Kitchen.
05:49Nia Vardalos hasn't publicized her voiceover work too much, but she has been heard,
05:54rather than seen, in several different programs over the years. As she was working to find a place
05:58on camera in Los Angeles, Vardalos took voiceover gigs to earn money. However,
06:03her more recent voiceover credits include the DuckTales reboot, Star vs. the Forces of Evil,
06:08and a Netflix project called Charming. Her character on DuckTales is Celine,
06:12who naturally happens to be a Greek moon goddess and appears in four episodes.
06:16Perhaps Vardalos doesn't talk about voiceover as often these days because the medium was a source
06:21of income before My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but she definitely seems to appreciate the work.
06:27Back in 2019, actor Ian Gomez revealed to Us Weekly that his ex-wife, Nia Vardalos,
06:33was considering making a third movie in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise,
06:37but he wouldn't spill anything juicy. Vardalos decided to set the record straight in April 2021 on
06:43Instagram. I wanted to clear up a rumor. Yes, it is true that for over a year we have been trying
06:48to film a script that I wrote called My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, but what is also true is that
06:53we are not filming, because the fact is that we are an independent film, and apparently independent
06:59films cannot get insurance. Hopefully, Vardalos will be back on our screens again soon. Basically,
07:04as soon as the insurance is secured, she said,
07:07we are going to Greece to film. Nia Vardalos is a multi-talented performer and writer,
07:12but fans of My Big Fat Greek Wedding could have missed some of her other work since she was out
07:17of sight for a while. Vardalos said in the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival's Masterclass,
07:22After I was in the pursuit of motherhood, the phone stopped ringing. And at that time,
07:26it was a relief, because I just wanted to write and get off camera and just be left alone.
07:31I didn't leave acting. I didn't quit. I just didn't want to act at that time.
07:35And even though I'm taking a step back, I will always be right here."
07:39She jumped back into acting with the 2009 movie My Life in Ruins,
07:43but another medium has always been there for her. As Vardalos told Broadway World in 2019,
07:49I had always worked on stage. I am classically trained and made a living doing plays,
07:54Shakespeare, musicals, and of course, waitressing. One reason people might not be aware of Vardalos'
07:59most recent play is because it was just as long a haul as her breakout movie once was.
08:04The actor adapted Cheryl Strayed's book Tiny Beautiful Things — Advice on Love and Life
08:09from Dear Sugar — for the stage, and has also performed in the production as the lead,
08:14a dating advice columnist named Sugar. She told Broadway World,
08:18"'We began reaching out to Cheryl Strayed in the early fall of 2013.
08:22I began writing by Thanksgiving, and several workshops later we were on stage at the Public.'"
08:27The play finally opened off-Broadway in 2016, at the Public Theater under the direction of
08:32Hamilton's Thomas Cale, and has since toured in Hawaii and Mexico.
08:37During her Los Angeles Greek Film Festival Masterclass in 2020,
08:41Nia Vardalos opened up to the participants about her father's death.
08:44"'We lost my dad in March, and of all the amazing outpouring of love and just people being so
08:49supportive, I got the most beautiful note from Michael Constantine.'
08:53Constantine played her father, Gus, in My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
08:56Vardalos continued,
08:57"'I have so many pictures of Michael Constantine and my dad, Constantine, on set together.
09:02Michael Constantine wrote me a note that said,
09:05"'Love, your other dad.'"
09:06According to Variety, Gus Vardalos' funeral was livestreamed from the same church of which
09:11he was once president. Sadly, Nia was unable to go home to Winnipeg, Canada due to the coronavirus
09:17pandemic, so she told her father goodbye via FaceTime. As she told Variety,
09:22"'They held up the phone to him and I got to thank him for an incredible life and tell him he was a
09:26gentleman and he was a great dad. My mom held his hand and said, it's okay for you to go.'"
09:31Around this time, the star organized charitable donations in her father's name.
09:35Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks also donated money to the church Gus belonged to,
09:39which sponsored an elderly outreach program. Vardalos told Variety of her fundraising projects,
09:44"'People in our industry, we're fortunate, we're privileged, we're pampered,
09:48and some of us want to use our voices to do something. We have to do some good or we're going to go nuts.'"
09:54Social media pressures can be too much for anybody, and celebrities have their share of social media
10:00troubles, as Nia Vardalos has learned. The star will not tolerate trash talk on her page,
10:05which she explained in part on Instagram in March 2021 when she said,
10:09"'Keep it civil. We are living in strange times, and some have lost their way, choosing to trash
10:14anyone whose views are not their own. I cherish the kind, thoughtful, inquisitive souls here,
10:19and yes, this includes the ones who disagree with me.'"
10:21Ending the post with the hashtags no trash talk and blocked, she added,
10:26"'Please join us on the high road, or stay on your own trash heap of a page.'"
10:30Clearly, Vardalos willingly connects with her followers, but she isn't afraid to
10:34disconnect when she needs little breaks. And sometimes, those are for the sake of her own
10:39productivity. A 2020 Instagram post included a graphic that read,
10:43"'Taking a break,' accompanied by the caption,
10:45"'Hi, I'm going to get off social media, clear my head, and hopefully get some work done. Even if we can't get
10:50my Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 right away, we're rooting for Nia Vardalos and love seeing her continue to
10:56create work that is meaningful.'"
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