Gia Carides ( Sydney , New South Wales , June 7, 1964) is an Australian actress , best known for having played Nikki in the film and series My Big Fat Greek Wedding .
Biography, she has two sisters: the actress Zoe Carides and the singer-songwriter Danielle Carides.
He speaks fluent Greek. She is very good friends with Australian actress Naomi Watts .
On 12 September 1998 she married Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia , the couple welcomed daughter Bridget LaPaglia in January 2003. In April 2015 the couple announced that they had separated. 1
Career
She is a volunteer as an actress in the Young Storytellers Program .
In 1992 she appeared in Ultraman: Towards the Future where she played Jean Echo, one of the two female members of UMA (a high-tech defense agency) and who is in love with Jack Shindo, an astronaut. That same year she appeared as a guest in several episodes of the police series Police Rescue where she played Helena Angelopoulos, the wife of Helena Angelopoulos ( Steve Bastoni ) until the following year.
In 1993 she appeared in the film Strictly Ballroom where she played Liz Holt, Scott Hastings’ dance partner, who after losing a competition against a rival couple leaves him for another dancer.
In 1999 he played Robin Spitz Swallows in the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me , starring Mike Myers .
In 2002, she played cousin Nikki in the American film My Big Fat Greek Wedding . 2
In 2008 she joined the cast of the series East of Everything where she gave life to Melanie Freedman 3 until the end of the series in 2009. In 2011 she appeared in the series Small Time Gangster where she played Darlene.
In 2013 she made a guest appearance on the series We Are Men where she played Sheila, the ex-wife of Frank Russo ( Tony Shalhoub ). That same year she appeared in the series Wonderland where she played Helena, the mother of Dani Varvaris ( Jessica Tovey ).
Charitable support
Gia supports fundraising for the construction of schools in Africa and Ethiopia together with ” Save The Children “.
Filmography
- Films
| Year | Title | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Annie and the Gypsy | – | with David Burtka , Cybill Shepherd , Bryce Johnson, Lenny von Dohlen & Peter Paige |
| 2011 | Burning Man | Carol | with Bojana Novakovic , Essie Davis , Rachel Griffiths , Kerry Fox , Anthony Hayes & Tasneem Roc |
| 2011 | In Loco Parentis | Mother | short – with Paul Ashton, Ben Lawson & Anthony LaPaglia |
| 2009 | Year One | Queen | with Jack Black , Michael Cera , Oliver Platt , David Cross & Vinnie Jones |
| 2007 | The Trap | clear | short – opposite Jeanne Tripplehorn , Greg Butler , Camilla Belle , Aisha Tyler & Channing Tatum |
| 2006 | stick it | Alice Graham | with Missy Peregrym , Jeff Bridges , Vanessa Lengies & Kellan Lutz |
| 2005 | One Last Thing… | madelene | with Michael Angarano , Matt Bush, Gideon Glick, Cynthia Nixon & Johnny Messner |
| 2004 | thank heaven | Cybil | with Matt Keeslar , Jenny McCarthy , Michael E. Rodgers & Kadeem Hardison |
| 2003 | Exposed | Jade Blake | with Brenda Strong , Lumi Cavazos , Tate Donovan & David Rasche |
| 2002 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding | Nikki | with Nia Vardalos , John Corbett , Lainie Kazan , Joey Fatone & Ian Gomez |
| 2001 | Jack the Dog | Georgia | with Nestor Carbonell , Barbara Williams, Travis Fine , Barry Newman & Anthony LaPaglia |
| 2000 | Maze | Julianne | with Rob Morrow , Laura Linney , Craig Sheffer & Robert Hogan |
| 2000 | The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave | sandy | with Bob Einstein , Dan Hedaya & Don Lake |
| 1999 | A Secret Affair | mimi | with Janine Turner , Fionnula Flanagan , Robert Mailhouse, Michael J. Reynolds & Sarah Bolger |
| 1999 | Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | Robin Swallows | with Mike Myers , Heather Graham , Michael York , Robert Wagner & Rob Lowe |
| 1998 | Letters from a Killer | Lita | with Patrick Swayze , Kim Myers , Roger E. Mosley & Bruce McGill |
| 1998 | Primary Colors | Cashmere McLeod | with John Travolta , Emma Thompson , Billy Bob Thornton , Kathy Bates & Adrian Lester |
| 1997 | Firehouse | sharlotte brooks | with Richard Dean Anderson , Lillo Brancato , Edie Falco & Skipp Sudduth |
| 1997 | Lifebreath | Gale Pullman | with Luke Perry , Francie Swift & Gary Basaraba |
| 1997 | The Devil’s Child | Eve | with Kim Delaney , Matthew Lillard & Ivana Milicevic |
| nineteen ninety six | Brilliant Lies | Suzy Connor | with Anthony LaPaglia , Zoe Carides , Ray Barrett & Michael Veitch |
| nineteen ninety six | Two If by Sea | Joan Rappaport | with Denis Leary , Sandra Bullock & Stephen Dillane |
| nineteen ninety six | The Cottonwood | kathy | with Ricardo Cordero, Stacy Edwards & Steven Feder |
| nineteen ninety five | The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space | evening | with Daniel Riordan, Liz Vassey & Ron Perlman |
| nineteen ninety five | Bad Company | Julie Ames | with Ellen Barkin , Laurence Fishburne , Frank Langella & Michael Beach |
| 1994 | lucky break | sophie | with Jacek Koman , Anthony LaPaglia , Rebecca Gibney , Robyn Nevin & Marshall Napier |
| 1992 | The Girl Who Came Late | Wendy | with Miranda Otto , Martin Kemp, Geoff Morrell & Bruce Venables |
| 1992 | Ballroom | Liz Holt | with Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice , Bill Hunter, Pat Thomson, Barry Otto & Kris McQuade |
| 1992 | The Resting Place | sally | short – with Peter Mochrie |
| 1992 | greenkeeping | gina | with Mark Little, Lisa Hensley, Max Cullen & Robyn Nevin |
| 1987 | Backlash | nikki iceton | with David Argue, Lydia Miller & Brian Syron |
| 1985 | bliss | Lucy Joy | with Barry Otto , Lynette Curran, Helen Jones & Miles Buchanan |
| 1985 | The Coca Cola Kid | Waitress | with Eric Roberts , Greta Scacchi , Chris Haywood , Kris McQuade & Max Gillies |
| 1984 | Annie’s Coming Out | narrator | with Angela Punch McGregor., Drew Forsythe , Liddy Clark, Monica Maughan & Lyn Collingwood |
| 1983 | phar lap | Emma | with Tom Burlinson, Richard Morgan, Robert Grubb & Simon Wells |
| 1983 | Midnite Spares | ruth | with Max Cullen , Bruce Spence , Tony Barry & Graeme Blundell |
| 1977 | The Love Letters from Teralba Road | Maureen | with Kris McQuade , Bryan Brown , Joy Hruby & Kevin Leslie |
- T.V. series
| Year | Title | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | wonderlands | helena | episode “Equal Rights” |
| 2013 | We Are Men | Sheila | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Small Time Gangster | Darlene | 8 episodes |
| 2008 – 2009 | East of Everything 4 | melanie freeman | 10 episodes |
| 2005 | Without a Trace | Stephanie Patterson | episode #4.0 |
| 2003 | My Big Fat Greek Life | Nikki | 7 episodes |
| 1997 | RD | Suzanne Alner | episode “You Bet Your Life” |
| 1992 – 1993 | Blue Heelers | Helena Angelopoulos | 7 episodes |
| 1993 | seven deadly sins | gluttony | miniseries |
| 1992 | Ultraman: Towards the Future | jean echo | 13 episodes – miniseries |
| 1991 | Acropolis Now | Haroula | episode “The Goddess” |
| 1991 | Boys in front of the Bush | – | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | Inside Running | – | – |
| 1986 | Studio 86 | – | 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Five Mile Creek | Beth | episode “Maggie” |
| 1983 | Country Practice | Tracy Power | 2 episodes |
- Videogame
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | gladius | lent his voice for additional vocals |
- Theater
| Year | Work 5 | Character | Director) | Theater | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The White Rose of Annandale | – | john bashford | stables theater | with Peter Bodnar, John Mandoukos, Jill Mckay & Martin Reefman |
| 1989 | The Marriage of Figaro | – | Jean Pierre Mignon | The Wharf Theater | with Miles Buchanan , Peter Collingwood, Jennifer Hagan & Barry Otto |
| 1988, 1989 | Don’s Party | – | Graeme Blundell | Athenaeum Theater | with Steve Bisley , Nicholas Eadie, Deborah Kennedy & Bill Young |
| 1988 | The Kid | – | Peter Kingston | stables theater | with Beth Child, David Field & Rebecca Frith |
| 1987, 1988 | The Heartbreak Kid | – | Peter Kingston | stables theater | with Marcus Graham , Nicholas Papademetriou & Franco Serafin |
| 1987 | shakers | – | Terence O’Connell | Belvoir St. Theater | with Nikki Coghill , Kaarin Fairfax & Lisa Kelly |
| 1984 | Fair and Tender Ladies | – | Arne Neeme | – | with Bill Conn, Julie Hudspeth, Bill Pearson & Toni Scanlan |
| 1979 | Dancing Partners/Animal | – | Fred Simms | stables theater | with Terry Byrnes, Julie Herbert, Bronwen Phillips & Michael Ross |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Category | Reward | Films | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture | Screen Actors Guild Award | My Big Fat Greek Wedding | Winners |
| nineteen ninety six | Best Actress in a Lead Role | AFI Award | Brilliant Lies | nominated |
| 1992 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | AFI Award | Ballroom | nominated |
