Australian actress, comedian, writer, producer, singer, and entrepreneur Rebel Wilson made the world burst into fits of laughter with her movies and TV shows while she dealt with immense personal grief in private.
Read the article in full to know about Wilson's parents, her father's death, her coming out story, her proposal to her girlfriend, and her daughter's birth.
Who is Rebel Wilson?
Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds) was born on 2 March 1980 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia to professional dog handlers Sue Bownds and Jack Bounds.
The University of New South Wales law and arts graduate, who initially wanted to pursue mathematics, was already a successful actress in her country with her acting prowess showcased in TV series such as Pizza (2003-2007), The Wedge (2006 to 2007), Monster House (2008) and Bogan Pride (self wrote, 2008) before she had a big success in the Hollywood for her portrayal of Brynn in the 2011 comedy film Bridesmaid alongside the acting talents such as Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Matt Lucas.
She also had earlier training from the Australian Theatre for Young People and had moved to New York in 2003 after winning the AYTP scholarship given by actress Nicole Kidman. After moving to New York, Wilson honed her acting skills, training with The Second City and performing with the Sydney Theatre Company.
But her shining moment happened even before that. In 2022, her self-wrote stage musical The Westie Monologues became popular and so did her next stage productions such as Spunks and Confession of an Exchange Students.
And as of now, the body positivity advocate has acted in the movies such as Bachelorette, Struck By Lightning, Ice Age: Continental Drift (voice), Pitch Perfect, Pain & Gain, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Pitch Perfect 2, Kung Fu Panda 3 (voice), How to be Single, Pitch Perfect 3, Isn't It Romantic (producer and actor), The Hustle (producer and actor), Jojo Rabbit, Netflix's Senior Year and The Almond and the Seahorse.
In television, she has also been seen in the shows such as 2013's MTV Movie Awards (host), sitcom Super Fun Night (creator and lead role), Pooch Perfect (dog grooming competition program), Lol: Australia (host), and Who Wants to be a Millionaire ( celebrity guest).
Her most notable stage credits since her shit to the United States include her performances in the likes of The Little Mermaid, Guys and Dolls, and Beauty and the Beast.
In February 2023, Wilson announced that she was working on her new dating app called Fluid which would cater to all sexual orientations.
Who Is Rebel Wilson's Father?
As per reports from DailyMail, Wilson acknowledged that her father, whose name remains undisclosed, passed away in the second week of the production of ABC's Super Fun Night.
The actress also indicated that the news of her father's passing had not made it to the public eye.
Although she did not reveal exactly when her father passed away, the show's timeline suggested that he died sometime in 2013. She did not disclose the cause of death either.
Rebel Wilson's Dad Wasn't really in Prison
Wilson is undoubtedly a global icon when it comes to comedy, but surprisingly little is known about her personal life in general.
Wilson talked about her colorful childhood during her time on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she also told the talk show host that
her parents were professional dog showers and beagle breeders.
The Bridesmaids actress admitted to W magazine in the past that she has spilled some family secrets onstage during her early standup days in Australia. Still, given that the entire point of doing standup was to make jokes, it was hard to discern fact from fiction.
For instance, she once gagged about her father being in prison for one of her shows and only later revealed that the joke did not sit very well with her real father.
The Rocky Journey of the Show Super Fun Night amidst Wilson's Dad's Death
Despite losing her dad, the actress found the strength to keep working on her self-created American sitcom Super Fun Night, which was a difficult journey.
The plot of the series revolved around three single ladies enjoying Fridays as fun nights and one of the ladies, attorney Kimmie Boubie (Wilson) decides to up her game after her friendship with a fellow attorney.
The show starring, written, and produced by Wilson was initially set to air on the CBS network. However, the network eventually let go of the show, and it was later picked up by ABC.
Even so, ABC decided to scrap the original pilot episode for the show and decided to go with the second episode in the premiere.
The show started off with a healthy viewership of 8.23 million, but by the time the final episode had aired, that number was down to 2.67 million. Hence, the network decided against making a second season for the show.
Rebel Wilson Learned a Lot on the Show
In time, the actress elected to stick with movies and exercise her writing skills for the big screen. The alternative would have been to write and perform seven pages of TV comedy every day, which, in her words, was "insane."
Even though the show was short-lived, Wilson admitted that she learned a great deal during the time she worked on Super Fun Night, as reported by news.com.au.
She added that the crew pumped out eight and a half hours worth of content in eight months, which was comparable to making four full-length movies back to back, including the whole process of writing, editing, and releasing it to the public.
She still believed that the show had a lot of potential but didn't pan out because it was not what the audience wanted her to do at that point in her career.
It's not like the limited success of that one show slowed her down, though. The Pitch Perfect star went on to star in over a dozen movies and TV shows since.
Is Rebel Wilson married?
Wilson has not been married yet but she has been engaged to Ramona Agruma, the found and designer of the fashion brand Lemon ve Limon and the founder of the jewelry brand DeLys.On 19 February 2023, Wilson proposed to her partner Ramona Agruma with a 2.55-carat diamond ring from Tiffany & Co.
Later in March 2023, the pair made headlines kissing at the Oscars Party. Also in the same month, she shared a story on U Up podcast of a time before meeting Agruma when she was attracted to a particular woman who publicly dumped her. It was her first gay relationship and she had mustered up the courage to reveal to her that she liked her.
If you didn't know, Wilson had only been linked to men in terms of her dating history, when she stood up for herself and came out as gay on 9 July 2022 on Instagram. On the post that showcased her with her partner Ramona, she captioned, "I thought I was searching for a Disney Prince… but maybe what I really needed all this time was a Disney Princess."
Previously on Twitter, in June 2022, she had acknowledged a post of journalist Kate Doak who wrote that she didn't want to come out but it was Sydney Morning Herald Magazine's op-ed and their two days' notice that forced her to come out.
Later in February 2023, Wilson revealed that she planned to make their Valentine's Day special as she felt her then-girlfriend Agruma had made the previous Valentine's Day "the best Valentine's Day ever" with a romantic set up involving balloons, flowers, chocolates and "everything."
Does Rebel Wilson have any kids?
Wilson gave birth to a baby daughter, Royce Lillian, in November 2022 via surrogacy after years of battling her fertility issue.
She also has had worked out to reduce her increasing weight with a specific weight loss regimen.
She also has said that she was "stereotyped in playing that fat, funny friend" in Pitch Perfect despite her wanting to be healthier.
ncG1vNJzZmign6G5usPOqJummaOge6S7zGicp6yVp8Gitc2mnKesX6y1sHnIrGSrnZKauW7DyKWqqKZdm661tMSrZKeZnZp7qcDMpQ%3D%3D