Rita Wilson’s mom, Dorothea Genkos, envisioned her daughter marrying a guy with a name like Starvos or Caesar. Instead, the actress said “I do” to Tom Hanks in April 1988.
“She could not believe that I didn’t marry a Greek man,” Wilson, 61, told Us Weekly at a screening of Simple Wedding at the L.A. Film Festival on Friday, September 21. “But [my parents] thought he looked enough Greek and that he could blend in!” (Hanks, 62, joined the Greek Orthodox Church before he and Wilson tied the knot.)
The My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 star and the Oscar winner are parents of Chet, 28, and Truman, 22. Hanks is also dad of Colin, 40, and Elizabeth, 36, from his marriage to the late Samantha Lewes. Wilson, who launched a singing career in 2012, is in the dark about her sons’ dating lives.
“My kids won’t even discuss women with me!’ she laughed. “It comes out in dribs and drabs, because they know that they will not bring anybody home that isn’t a serious person.” The L.A. native noted that she understands why parents like to play matchmaker. “Because who would know your child better than the mother, am I right?” she mused to Us. “If the wrong person comes along, it could be a disaster.”
While Wilson spoke to reporters, her husband of 30 years couldn’t stop beaming as he stood back and watched her. Wilson is just as smitten with him. As she told Us: “I love him!”
With reporting by Taylor Ferber.
