Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds;[note 1] 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian and producer. After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing in the SBS comedy series Pizza (2003–2007) and later appeared in the sketch comedy show The Wedge (2006–2007). She wrote, produced and starred in the musical comedy series Bogan Pride (2008). Shortly after moving to the United States, Wilson appeared in the comedy films Bridesmaids and A Few Best Men, both in 2011.
In 2019, Wilson had her first lead roles in the comedies Isn't It Romantic and The Hustle, and also had a supporting role in the comedy drama Jojo Rabbit. In 2022, she starred in the Netflix comedy film Senior Year, also serving as a producer.
Wilson has three siblings: sisters Liberty and Annaleise (who uses the name "Annachi") and a brother, who uses the name "Ryot".[7][8][15][16] Liberty and Ryot appeared on the first season of The Amazing Race Australia in 2011, where they were the first team eliminated.[17] Wilson has stated that, according to her grandmother, her great-aunt was Lillian Disney, who was married to Walt Disney until his death in 1966.[18] Wilson stood by this belief in court, despite there being no evidence to support the claim;[19][20] it continues to be disputed by genealogist Dale Sheridan.[21]
Wilson's first career choice was mathematics. She told The Sydney Morning Herald, "I was very academic at high school and was always good with numbers."[22] She attended the University of New South Wales, graduating in 2009 with Bachelor of Arts (Theatre and Performance Studies) and Bachelor of Laws degrees. She planned to be a lawyer, but decided against corporate life and went to the United States to act.[6][23] A former Rotary Internationalyouth ambassador for Australia, she was based in South Africa for one year, where she contracted malaria.[22][24] She has spoken of malaria-induced hallucinations, where she saw herself as an actress who had won an Oscar, convincing her to pursue an acting career.[24]
In Australia, Wilson is most known for her roles as Toula on the SBS comedy series Pizza and as various characters including Lucy, Fat Mandi and Karla Bangs on the sketch comedy series The Wedge.[24] She played an Australian Idol mad schoolgirl in a series of Telstra advertisements shown during Australian Idol from 2004 to 2005.[31] She also had roles in the feature films Fat Pizza (2003) and Ghost Rider (2007).[32]
In January 2012, Michael Ausiello of TVLine announced that Wilson would be writing and starring in Super Fun Night, a comedy that follows three friends on a quest to have fun every Friday night.[48] The pilot was picked up by CBS and Conan O'Brien became one of the executive producers.[48] The pilot was later turned down by CBS, but the ABC network picked up the project.[49] A series was ordered and the show began broadcasting on 2 October 2013.[50] The series was cancelled after one season.[51] Wilson played Robin Peck in Michael Bay's Pain & Gain (2013).[52][53] She hosted the 2013 MTV Movie Awards on 14 April 2013.[54]
Wilson appeared as Ursula, the sea witch, in an all-star concert version of The Little Mermaid at the Hollywood Bowl on 3 June 4 June, and 6 June 2016.[64] She made her West End debut in the musical Guys and Dolls in the role of Miss Adelaide from 28 June to 21 August 2016.[65] She received positive reviews.[66] In 2018, it was announced that Wilson was to produce and star in a feature film adaptation of the Image Comics comic book Crowded.[67] Wilson played LeFou in a production of Beauty and the Beast: Live in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl on 25–26 May 2018.[68] She also appeared on the cover of Vogue Australia for the first time.[69]
Wilson starred in two 2019 comedies. The first, Isn't It Romantic, was released in February, and is about a woman (Wilson) who wakes up in a literal romantic comedy, despite the character's hate for the genre; the film is Wilson's first solo lead role and her first ever producer credit.[70][71] In May, Wilson starred alongside Anne Hathaway in The Hustle, a female-centred remake of the 1988 comedy film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Wilson also co-produced the latter film.[66][72] Wilson plays twins Doreen and Dolores Bognor in Australian drama series Les Norton.[73] Towards the end of 2019, Wilson played Fraulein Rahm in Taika Waititi's dark comedy drama Jojo Rabbit,[74] and Jennyanydots in the musical film Cats.[75]
Wilson hosted the dog styling competition Pooch Perfect for Seven Network. The show features professional dog stylists competing over a number of challenges for a $100,000 prize.[76] She also hosted the ABC's version of Pooch Perfect in the United States, which was cancelled after one season.[77] Wilson stars in the Netflix comedy film Senior Year, released in May 2022. She plays a woman who, after waking from a 20-year coma, returns to high school to earn the prom queen crown she feels she deserves.[78] Wilson will appear in her first non-comedy film role in The Almond and the Seahorse, which is an adaptation of Kaite O'Reilly's stage play of the same name.[79] Wilson is making her directorial debut with The Deb, a musical comedy film set in the Australian outback.[80] It is based on Hannah Reilly's 2022 theatre production, which sees "lovable farm girl and high school outcast" Taylah, who hopes the upcoming Debutante Ball will help change how her peers see her, but her plans are disrupted by the arrival of her cousin Maeve from the city. Production began in September 2023.[80]
Personal life
In 2013, Wilson created a plus-size T-shirt collection named after her "Fat Mandi" character in The Wedge featuring images of donuts and cupcakes.[81] In 2017, Wilson launched a plus-sized clothing range called Rebel Wilson x Angels on the heels of a collaboration with Torrid.[82]
Wilson and her Bridesmaids co-star, British actor Matt Lucas, lived together in West Hollywood,[83] from September 2012 until 2015.[84]
In July 2015, Wilson stated her support for stricter American gun laws following the 2015 Lafayette shooting, stating, "I don't like getting political but America you really have to follow Australia's example in gun laws. I don't remember a mass shooting in Australia since they overhauled the gun laws. It seems like every week in America there's a shooting. I just want people to be safe, especially people that are doing one of my favorite things in the world—going out to the movies to have fun."[85][86][87]
In 2014, Wilson paid $3.75 million for her Sydney harbourside home. The 1900s freestanding Victorian house underwent $900,000 of renovations. Wilson also settled on a Balmain investment apartment, a conversion of a historic mansion. The New York-inspired terrace home took three years to complete. Wilson paid $1.88 million off the plan in 2015 for the two-bedroom apartment.[88][89]
In 2024, Wilson stated that she was a virgin until the age of 35.[91] As her 40th birthday approached, Wilson made the decision to freeze her eggs, which spurred on her effort to make healthy life changes. She has polycystic ovarian syndrome, and suffers from emotional eating due to pressures of fame.[92] In November 2022, she announced on Instagram the birth of her first child, a daughter born via surrogacy.[93]
Wilson publicly came out as being in a same-sex relationship on Instagram in June 2022, revealing her relationship with Ramona Agruma while posting on Instagram, "I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess."[94] She chose to announce her relationship with Agruma to pre-empt an article by Andrew Hornery of The Sydney Morning Herald that would have outed her.[95][96] While Herald editor Bevan Shields initially defended Hornery in the face of widespread backlash, denying they were outing her,[97] Hornery later admitted to having made mistakes, and the original article was deleted.[98] In a tweet on 19 February 2023, Wilson confirmed her engagement to Agruma.[99] The couple married on 28 September 2024.[100]
Weight
An advocate for body positivity, Wilson has been a role model for larger women. "There's a lot of pressure on women, especially younger women, to conform to the thin body image," she told the Associated Press. "Not everyone can be that way and no one should be ashamed of how they look or suffer bullying and other forms of abuse because of their size and shape."[71]
Throughout her career, Wilson has been known for her plus-sized figure and would often play to it in her acting work with characters such as "Fat Amy". In a 2013 interview with Hunger Magazine, Wilson stated: "As long as I look like this, I'm going to make fat jokes. All comedians have to use their physicality, so I use my size."[101] Wilson said that her agency signed her almost on the spot because they had nobody on their books like her.[102]
Wilson felt lucky to have her body type and stated that people in the industry would tell her not to lose weight. "For me, I think it's about being comfortable in your own skin. I never want to be too unhealthy, because that's bad. You just want to be comfortable with who you are at whatever size", she said.[102] In 2016, Wilson said that she felt bigger girls did better in comedy because they are easier to laugh at and used that to her advantage.[103]
In July 2011, Wilson became a spokesperson for weight loss and nutrition company Jenny Craig in Australia.[104][105] In January 2012, Wilson told The Daily Telegraph that she had lost 10 kilograms (22 lb) since signing up to the program.[106] In February 2013, she confirmed that she had ended her agreement with Jenny Craig the previous year.[107]
Wilson asserted that the producers of Pitch Perfect had refused to let her lose any more weight during filming, as her contract stated that she must stay the same size. She said that once her film commitments were over, she would start her diet again to reach her target weight of 80 kilograms (180 lb).[106]
In her 2020 "year of health", Wilson made it her mission to lose 60 pounds (27 kg) and did so by November 2020. Wilson stated that she has always been confident in how she looked, but now feels "super confident".[108]
Public profile
Disputed biography
In May 2015, Australian magazine Woman's Day published a story claiming that Wilson had been misleading about her birth name, age, and upbringing.[109] Wilson had previously said in interviews that she was raised by dog-training "bogan" parents in the ghetto of Sydney, spent a year in Zimbabwe, climbed into a cage with a leopard, got caught in a shoot-out and then struck down by a severe strain of malaria from a mosquito in Mozambique where, from her intensive care bed, she envisioned herself winning an Oscar and rapping her acceptance speech.[110] Her age was also incorrectly given as 29 (when it was actually 35), which she would later admit was something she chose not to correct.[19]Woman's Day called all of this into question and claimed that Wilson had, on the contrary, a "very normal, upper-middle-class upbringing" and "added a touch of 'fantasy' to the life she led before becoming a household name".[109] The story was picked up by several other publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, People magazine,[111] the Chicago Tribune[112] and The Huffington Post.[113] Most notably, Wilson's true birth date was confirmed through business records filed with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, which were obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald,[114] and her birth name of Melanie was confirmed. Following the appeal, Wilson continued to stand by her claim that she is related to Walt Disney by marriage, despite having no evidence to support this.[115] Following this incident, Wilson was "sacked from two DreamWorks animations" and "missed out on movie roles during 2015 and 2016".[116]
Memoir
Wilson's memoir, Rebel Rising, was published in April 2024.[117][118][119][120] It garnered attention for her recounting of discomfort on the set of The Brothers Grimsby, including Sacha Baron Cohen's alleged requests for nudity and inappropriate behavior during a sex scene, which she refused. Baron Cohen has denied these claims through a spokesperson.[121] Following this episode, publication was pushed back and significant portions of the chapter associated with this incident were redacted for the UK due to legislation regarding factual accuracy and slander.[122]
Lawsuits
On 16 May 2016, Wilson said print and online articles in Woman's Day, the Australian Women's Weekly, NW and OK! magazines made her out to be a serial liar. According to a defamation writ filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Wilson said her reputation and credit had suffered and she had been humiliated and embarrassed. She also sued for special damages, claiming she missed out on roles and others were terminated because of the articles.[123] Wilson was represented by Matthew Collins QC. On 15 June 2017, a six-person jury ruled in Wilson's favour, finding that publisher Bauer Media Group had indeed wrongly painted the actress as a serial liar, and that publishing the articles was likely to have caused harm to her career.[124]
On 13 September 2017, Wilson was awarded A$4,500,000 in damages. Wilson's lawyer Richard Leder, said "Today's verdict is a significant record—it's about four times the highest previous verdict in a defamation case in Australia." In June 2017, Wilson tweeted "Any dollars I receive will go to charity, scholarships or invested into the Aussie film industry to provide jobs."[125][126]
Bauer Media appealed the amount of the damages.[127] On 14 June 2018, Bauer Media won its appeal and the damages were reduced to $600,000, meaning that she had to pay back A$4.1m and A$60,000 in interest. She also had to cover 80% of what Bauer spent on its appeal.[128][129] Wilson announced her intention to appeal the decision,[130] and lodged an appeal with the High Court on 11 July 2018.[131] The High Court refused the application on 16 November 2018.[132][133]
^Fowler, Tara (20 May 2015). "Facts vs. Fibs: Rebel Wilson's Real Age is 35, Records Confirm". People. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015. The Australian Electoral Roll lists her real name as Melanie Elizabeth Bownds, though she later changed her last name to Wilson, as has been previously reported. Last year, however, she told The Australian Women's Weekly that her real name was in fact Rebel, and that Melanie and Elizabeth were middle names she went by at school to avoid being teased.
^ abJimmy Kimmel Live (26 April 2022). "Rebel Wilson on Being Cheeky in High School, Working in a Movie Theater & Playing Handbells". Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022 – via YouTube. (Yearbook Photograph Page) Rebel talks about visiting family back in Australia, working in a movie theater when she first came to Hollywood, going to an all-girls Christian high school, masterminding escapes to visit the neighboring boys school, her prom being a disaster, her new movie Senior Year on Netflix, and she plays handbells to the tune of Happy Birthday for Melania Trump's 52nd.
^"Rebel Wilson". Biography.com. 9 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 June 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
^ abcWilson, Vanessa (29 May 2002). "A push over on stage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2011. That lead to the 22-year-old's first play, The Westie Monologues, and her springboard to life as a playwright. And actor. And producer. And theatre company director.
^Shields, Bevan (12 June 2022). "A note on Rebel Wilson". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 13 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.