This week's U.S.version of the popuar genealogy television show, Who Do You Think You Are?, features actress Rita Wilson, wife of Tom Hanks. Her name at birth was Margarita Ibrahimoff (Bulgarian: Маргарита Ибрахимов, Greek: Μαργαρίτα Ιμπραΐμοβ). Her father was a Bulgarian, born in Greece, who worked at a Los Angeles racetrack. Before immigrating to the US, he had lived in Bulgaria and Turkey. Her mother, Dorothy, was born and raised in an ethnic Greek village (Sotire) in present-day Albania. Wilson's family changed their surname from "Ibrahimoff" to "Wilson," which was a name of a local street in Southern California.
Wilson has appeared in several movies, including
Volunteers, Teen Witch, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Barbarians at the Gate, Mixed Nuts, Sleepless in Seattle, Now and Then, That Thing You Do!, Jingle All the Way, Runaway Bride, Invisible Child, The Story of Us, and
Raise Your Voice. She played Susan Borman, wife of astronaut Frank Borman, in the HBO miniseries
From the Earth to the Moon. On television, she guest starred in many television series, including
Frasier, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Good Wife and
Body of Proof.
In this week's episode, Rita Wilson travels to Greece and Bulgaria to learn the untold history of her late father. In this preview, she learns the shocking truth about his past. Wilson said she hopes viewers will "see my father's journey, his courage, his determination and realize that when you really want something, and it's for the right reasons, nothing can stop you. ... My father and mother both sacrificed so much for a better life and appreciated being free in America. For that, they were always thankful."
The program airs Friday, March 30, at 8pm ET/7pm CT, on NBC.
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