Rita Wilson
Wilson in 2011, photo by Starfrenzy/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Margarit Ibrahimoff
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of Birth: October 26, 1956
Ethnicity:
*Pomak Bulgarian (father)
*Greek (mother)
Rita Wilson is an American actress, singer, voice actress, activist, and producer.
Her father, Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff, who changed his name to Allan Wilson after Rita was born, was a Pomak (Muslim Bulgarian), who was born in Breshtene, Western Thrace, Greece, and worked at a racetrack. He moved to the U.S. in 1949. He joined the Orthodox Christian church upon his marriage. He spoke Bulgarian, Russian, Turkish, Polish, Greek, and some Italian and French.
Her mother, Dorothea/Dorothy George (Genkos), was born and raised in a Greek village, Sotire, near Dropull i Sipërm, Albania, near the border with Greece.
Rita is married to actor Tom Hanks, with whom she has two children, actor and musician Chet Hanks and actor Truman Hanks. The couple are members of the Greek Orthodox Church. Tom has stated that he modeled his portrayal of Viktor Navorski in the film The Terminal (2004) on his father-in-law.
Rita’s paternal grandfather was named Halil Ibrahimoff.
Source: Rita’s appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, 2012 – http://www.ancestraldiscoveries.com
Her father moved from Ottoman Empire to the United States in 1949. He converted from Islam to Orthodox Christianity upon his marriage and changed his name from Hassan Ibrahimoff to Allan Wilson in 1960.
Tom Hanks has stated at “Inside the Actors Studio” that he modeled his portrayal of the character Viktor Navorski in the film “The Terminal” on his father-in-law, who was able to speak Russian, Turkish, Polish, Greek, a little bit of Italian, a little bit of French.
http://www.ancestraldiscoveries.com/2012/04/who-do-you-think-you-are-rita-wilson.html
* to speak…in addition to his Bulgarian
Pomak? That is new and interesting.
She is married to Tom Hanks, so their son is Pomak, Greek, Portuguese, and English? :]
Cool.