Peta
Gia Wilson (she believes she was named after Miss Australia 1970)
was born November 18, 1970, in New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
The daughter of Darcy Wilson, a retired warrant officer, and Karlene,
a caterer, Peta and her family moved more than a dozen times before
finally settling down in Papua New Guinea (where her father was
stationed), where she was raised.
In
order to fit in as best she could, considering she was constantly
switching schools, the self-proclaimed "army brat" tried to deal
with being a social outcast by participating in sports (which
she enjoyed anyway) and by pretending to be "into" whatever activity
others were doing, thus performing every day of her adolescence.
she's
ready for her close-up
While
in Australia, she was the youngest woman on the national basketball
team, and she was also an accomplished sailor, having been named
Australian Champion Trailer Sailors along with her brother and
father.
After
these accomplishments, Peta decided to take off to Europe and
pursue a modeling career. She worked as a model for several years
and suffered from an eating disorder; she soon grew tired of modeling
and decided to try her hand at acting.
Peta
moved to Los Angeles in 1991, where she met her director boyfriend
a short while after. She and Damian Harris moved into an apartment
together, while Peta was taking acting lessons with coach Arthur
Mendoza, from the Actors Circle Theater and a protégé of the renowned
Stella Adler. She was forced to study intensively with Mendoza,
and also has Tom Waits at TomCats Repertory Group to thank for
her acting abilities.
After
her first role in Fool For Love, an Actors Circle Theater
production, Peta was cast in the films The Sadness of Sex
and Naked Jane, both in 1995. She appeared in the made-for-TV
movie Woman Undone in 1996, as well as the series Highlander
and Strangers, and the film Loser, also that year.
kicking
butt as nikita
After
a bit part in Vanishing Point, Peta was cast in her breakthrough
role in 1997, as the title role in the series La Femme Nikita
(a.k.a. Nikita). As Nikita/Josephine, a French superspy,
Peta has helped make the Canadian-produced show one of the most
successful in the US as well.
Peta
(not to be confused with the organization for the ethical treatment
of animals) made cameo appearances in 1997, in Raw is War.
She has also appeared in the 1998 film One of Our Own and
Mercy, 2 years later, directed by her then-boyfriend Damian
Harris.
pretty
in peta
When
not fighting crime on La Femme Nikita, Peta enjoys outdoor
activities such as scuba diving, swimming, playing cricket, and
gardening, and engages in alternative medicine like yoga and acupuncture.
Peta
also funds causes that are important to her; she is presently
working on founding a Julliard for disadvantaged children, and
is raising money with her company, Psycht, which sells sunglasses,
running shoes, watches, and other accessories. Peta has also founded
a production company called Sweet Lick Productions.
While
shooting La Femme Nikita in Toronto, Canada, Peta shares
an apartment with her grandmother, in addition to her home in
the Hollywood Hills. She is no longer dating Harris, although
she was linked to Russell Crowe (then again, who hasn't?).
After
smaller television projects like A Girl Thing (starring
Elle MacPherson and Kate Capshaw) and Other People, the
sexy Nikita star will next appear in the made-for-TV film
Joe and Max.
-
Peta
meditates, practices yoga, gets acupuncture and takes all kinds
of alternative medicines to keep her body in balance. At age
17, she had a year long battle with anorexia.
-
In
1999, moved into a Brooklyn Heights, NY apt. building, which
also includes co-op owners such as producer Andrew S. Karsch
and 'O.J.Simpson's' former attorney 'Barry Scheck'.
(1997)
Living with Damian Harris
-
Father
Darcy Wilson is a retired warrant officer. Mother Karlene White
is a caterer. Brother Rob Wilson, 25, is an Australian army
truck driver.
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Was
a model in Europe.
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Enjoys
scuba diving, horseback riding, swimming, cricket, painting
and gardening
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Attended
an all-girls Catholic school in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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