Nia Vardalos

Acting

Nia Vardalos

Born 1962-09-24 · Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Antonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos (born September 24, 1962) is a Canadian-American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. Her most notable work is the 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, 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. She's also known for starring in the sequel My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, and the TV series My Big Fat Greek Life. She starred in the films Connie and Carla, My Life in Ruins, I Hate Valentine's Day, and Helicopter Mom. She starred on TV as Domino in Team Knight Rider and as Annie Spiro in Graves. She hosted The Great American Baking Show along with her then husband, actor Ian Gómez.

Acting credits

You, Me & Tuscany poster
7.4

When a woman crashes at an empty Italian villa, posing as the owner's fiancée, she discovers an unexpected romance that could transform her life.

You, Me & Tuscany

2026

My Big Fat Greek Wedding poster
6.5

A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

2002

SNL50: The Homecoming Concert poster
6.8

Live from Radio City Music Hall, witness the concert of a lifetime with a star-studded lineup bringing together legendary Saturday Night Live hall-of-famers, iconic guests and surprise musical performances.

SNL50: The Homecoming Concert

2025

Larry Crowne poster
6.0

When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes part of an eclectic community of students and develops a crush on his teacher.

Larry Crowne

2011

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 poster
5.9

Following the death of their patriarch Gus, the Portokalos family travels to Greece for a family reunion, and to deliver Gus' journal to his old friends.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

2023

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 poster
6.0

The continuing adventures of the Portokalos family. A follow-up to the 2002 comedy, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

2016

Wonder Woman: Bloodlines poster
6.9

Witness the legendary origin of renowned Justice League member Wonder Woman as she fights for good with her sword and magic lasso. Equally strong in body, heart and will, she makes it her mission to help a troubled young girl enlisted by a deadly organization known as Villainy, Inc., whose criminal members have their sights set on invading Themyscira, Wonder Woman’s paradise home. The battle will be epic, because if there's one thing an Amazon knows, it’s war!

Wonder Woman: Bloodlines

2019

The Curse of Bridge Hollow poster
6.5

A Halloween-hating dad reluctantly teams up with his teenage daughter when an evil spirit wreaks havoc by making their town's decorations come to life.

The Curse of Bridge Hollow

2022

Charming poster
6.4

Three fairy tale princesses find themselves engaged to the same guy, Prince Charming.

Charming

2018

My Life in Ruins poster
6.1

A Greek tour guide named Georgia attempts to recapture her kefi (Greek for mojo) by guiding a ragtag group of tourists around Greece and showing them the beauty of her native land. Along the way, she manages to open their eyes to the wonders of an exotic foreign land while beginning to see the world through a new set of eyes in the process.

My Life in Ruins

2009

Helicopter Mom poster
5.0

Maggie Cooper thinks it would be really cool if her son Lloyd were gay. So cool, in fact, that she outs him to the entire school.

Helicopter Mom

2015

No artwork available
NR

Follows Alma, a young girl who writes to Santa asking for help after her town loses Christmas spirit. Two misfit elves are sent undercover as humans to help restore the town's holiday joy.

Nutmeg & Mistletoe

For a Good Time, Call... poster
5.8

College "frenemies" Lauren and Katie move in together after losing a relationship and rent control, respectively. Sharing Katie's late grandmother's apartment in New York City, the girls bicker with each other until one fateful night, when Katie's noisy bedroom activities make Lauren barge in and discover a dirty little secret. This revelation brings them closer together, and Lauren (the brains) and Katie (the talent) concoct a wildly successful business venture. As profits swell, the girls reevaluate their hopes and dreams and realize that just because someone pees in your hair in college doesn't mean she won't be your best friend 10 years later.

For a Good Time, Call...

2012

Star vs. the Forces of Evil: The Battle for Mewni poster
NR

Star returns to her home dimension of Mewni where she discovers that magic is disappearing throughout the kingdom. Star must dig deep and challenge archnemesis Ludo in an effort to save her family and kingdom.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil: The Battle for Mewni

2017

I Hate Valentine's Day poster
5.4

A love story set in Manhattan, where a florist who abides by a strict five-date-limit with any man finds herself wanting more with the new restaurateur in town.

I Hate Valentine's Day

2009

Connie and Carla poster
5.9

After accidentally witnessing a mafia hit in the Windy City, gal pals Connie and Carla skip town for L.A., where they go way undercover as singers working the city's dinner theater circuit ... disguised as drag queens. Now, it's not enough that they become big hits on the scene; things get extra-weird when Connie meets Jeff -- a guy she'd like to be a woman with.

Connie and Carla

2004

No artwork available
NR

Inspired by an extraordinary true story, Caden Cox made history by becoming the first person with Down syndrome to play and score in a college football game.

21 Down

Ivy + Bean poster
6.7

Ivy and Bean never expected to be friends. Ivy is quiet, thoughtful and observant. Bean is playful, exuberant and fearless. However, sometimes an adventure reveals that opposites can become the best of friends.

Ivy + Bean

2022

Men Seeking Women poster
4.5

Three best friends mess up their already flagging love lives with an ill-fated bet. They each put two thousand dollars in a bank account, with the winner being the one who can not only get a girlfriend, but also live with her for three months. Nick decides to hoodwink his two friends by faking a relationship with an old girlfriend from college, while Al proceeds to embark on a series of the worst dates imaginable, and Les finds himself getting deeply involved with an alluring but mysterious woman who may or may not be married to a mobster. Hilarious antics lead to an unexpected outcome guaranteed to surprise.

Men Seeking Women

1997

Dealin' with Idiots poster
5.3

Faced with the absurd competitiveness surrounding his son's youth league baseball team, Max Morris, a famous comedian, decides to get to know the colorful parents and coaches of the team better in an attempt to find the inspiration for his next movie.

Dealin' with Idiots

2013

A Taste of Christmas poster
6.0

When Natalie learns her cousin Francesca must cancel the Christmas Eve opening of her new Italian restaurant, Natalie’s heart goes out to all of the guests who were planning on attending. Since no one should be alone on Christmas, Natalie decides to make the opening happen any way she can. However, the attractive but pessimistic Chef Stefano believes it’s impossible – there are only three days until Christmas! But Natalie insists that problems are just opportunities in disguise and soon she convinces Stefano that they can do it. At first, these opposites do not attract, but feelings begin to change when they find themselves working side-by-side. With Stefano’s help Natalie learns that cooking, like Christmas, isn’t about perfection…it’s about sharing it with the ones you love.

A Taste of Christmas

2020

An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars poster
6.9

A young girl struggles to maintain her school grades while competing as a gymnast.

An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars

2012

Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters poster
6.5

Hollywoods biggest talents explore what is the recipe for blockbuster, flops, and how absolute happenstance and controlled luck can make movie magic.

Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters

2006

Same Time, Next Christmas poster
6.7

Olivia Anderson is a successful young woman who met her childhood sweetheart during her family’s annual Christmas visit to Hawaii. After being separated by distance and years, the two reunite at the same Hawaiian resort years later, and the old chemistry between them flares up anew—but circumstances conspire to keep them apart.

Same Time, Next Christmas

2019

Behind the camera

My Big Fat Greek Wedding poster
6.5

A young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

2002

Larry Crowne poster
6.0

When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes part of an eclectic community of students and develops a crush on his teacher.

Larry Crowne

2011

Larry Crowne poster
6.0

When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes part of an eclectic community of students and develops a crush on his teacher.

Larry Crowne

2011

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 poster
5.9

Following the death of their patriarch Gus, the Portokalos family travels to Greece for a family reunion, and to deliver Gus' journal to his old friends.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

2023

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 poster
5.9

Following the death of their patriarch Gus, the Portokalos family travels to Greece for a family reunion, and to deliver Gus' journal to his old friends.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

2023

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 poster
6.0

The continuing adventures of the Portokalos family. A follow-up to the 2002 comedy, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

2016

I Hate Valentine's Day poster
5.4

A love story set in Manhattan, where a florist who abides by a strict five-date-limit with any man finds herself wanting more with the new restaurateur in town.

I Hate Valentine's Day

2009

I Hate Valentine's Day poster
5.4

A love story set in Manhattan, where a florist who abides by a strict five-date-limit with any man finds herself wanting more with the new restaurateur in town.

I Hate Valentine's Day

2009

Connie and Carla poster
5.9

After accidentally witnessing a mafia hit in the Windy City, gal pals Connie and Carla skip town for L.A., where they go way undercover as singers working the city's dinner theater circuit ... disguised as drag queens. Now, it's not enough that they become big hits on the scene; things get extra-weird when Connie meets Jeff -- a guy she'd like to be a woman with.

Connie and Carla

2004

Tiny Beautiful Things poster
NR

In this play based on the book Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed, Sugar is an anonymous online advice columnist—later revealed to be Strayed—who thousands of people have turned to for words of wisdom, honesty and hope. At first unsure of herself, Sugar finds a way to weave her own life experiences together with the deep yearning and real problems of her readers, creating a beloved column about the monstrous beauty, endless dark and glimmering light at the heart of being human.

Tiny Beautiful Things

2020

Tiny Beautiful Things poster
NR

In this unforgettable play, wit and hard-won wisdom are dished out in the advice column exchanges between a writer who goes by the name of “Sugar” and her readers. Tiny Beautiful Things is about reaching when you’re stuck, recovering when you’re broken, and finding the courage to ask the questions that are hardest to answer.

Tiny Beautiful Things

2021