Nia Vardalos Has a Big Fat Net Worth
Nia Vardalos's multi-million-dollar net worth stems from her 2002 indie rom-com My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which smashed box-office expectations and turned the writer/actress into an overnight sensation. Vardalos went on to write and star in the 2016 sequel, and has now added “director” to her list of credits for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, in theaters Sept. 8.
This newest installment sees the legendary Portokalos family return to their hometown in Greece and includes the full original cast, sans Michael Constantine, who played patriarch Gus Portokalos and passed away in 2021.
Vardalos was born in Canada but has Greek-Canadian parents, which fueled her choice to bring the Portokalos clan back to Greece. “Any child of immigrants rebels against tradition, and then we morph into our parents and become immersed in them all," she told Town & Country. "It felt like a disservice to not have that in a movie.”
Here’s a look into how Vardalos got famous—and how her Hollywood success has translated into a sizable bank account.
Related: Who Will Return for 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3'?
How did Nia Vardalos get her start?
Vardalos started out the way many actors do—on stage. She acted at the local theater in her hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, and later joined an improv comedy troupe in Toronto. In 1993, she and her then husband, actor Ian Gomez, moved to Los Angeles, where Vardalos bolstered her resumé with a supporting role in 1999’s Meet Prince Charming and a memorable guest appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Still, it was her stage talent that eventually rocketed Vardalos to fame. She created a one-woman show heavily influenced by her own Greek heritage and life experiences. Not only did she come from a Greek family, but she married a non-Greek man (Gomez). This culminated in the now-renowned story of My Big Fat Greek Wedding—which she performed in L.A. theaters, playing all 10 characters herself.
Actress Rita Wilson, who’s also of Greek descent, took notice, and she and her husband, Tom Hanks, decided to option Vardalos’ screenplay as a movie. Obviously, it was a big success.
“I'm an ordinary person that something extraordinary happened to," Vardalos said to SFGate in 2003. She got that right!
Related: Nia Vardalos Says She Still Feels 'Like an Outsider' in Hollywood
What is Nia Vardalos's net worth?
Currently, Nia Vardalos has an estimated net worth of $8 million. That's not massive according to Hollywood standards, but it's pretty hug for a star who's best known for a rom-com franchise.
How much did Nia Vardalos make for My Big Fat Greek Wedding?
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) was an independent film with a measly budget of $5 million. Against all odds, though, it became a smash hit, grossing almost $370 million at the global box office and cementing itself as one of the best rom-coms of the 2000s.
The movie centered around Toula and Ian (John Corbett) as they struggled against the expectations of Toula’s overbearing Greek family.
Related: All About John Corbett's Real-Life Love, Bo Derek
“The story was to be told through Ian and Toula’s eyes, but it was about the family—the smothering, ever-suffocating, loving family,” Vardalos told The Ringer. “I wanted very, very much to not follow the standard romantic comedy formula of ‘he cheats on the girl and wins her back.’ I didn’t want them to break up, because the only villain in the screenplay was the world against Ian and Toula.”
Vardalos earned an Oscar nomination for the screenplay, but what did she earn in cash?
While the amount hasn’t been reported by a trusted source, it can be assumed she made money for both her roles as star and writer. One site, The Richest, claims she made just over $200,000 at the time but received $10 million from profit sharing. It’s unknown if this reflects her true earnings, but Vardalos clearly felt she wasn’t compensated fairly, as she later filed a lawsuit over unpaid profits.
Why did Nia Vardalos sue over My Big Fat Greek Wedding?
Vardalos, along with producers Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, filed a lawsuit against Gold Circle Films and two other production companies behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding in 2007. The reason was pretty simple: money.
Vardalos, Hanks and Wilson claimed that, despite the immense monetary success of the movie, Gold Circle purposely underestimated returns to keep more for themselves. "The accounting statements rendered by defendants have been vague and inadequate in failing to provide information consistent with industry standards," the lawsuit said.
According to her contract, Vardalos was to receive 8% of the adjusted gross profits.
Gold Circle executive Scott Niemeyer denied the actors’ claims. “Gold Circle has fully complied with its contractual obligations and has already paid plaintiffs a combined total of over $44 million in profits on My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Gold Circle has never thwarted the producers’ audit rights,” he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In July 2008, Vardalos, Hanks and Wilson dropped the lawsuit for unspecified reasons.
Did Nia Vardalos make more for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2?
Vardalos’s earnings are unknown for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, the 2016 sequel to her 2002 hit. However, the movie majorly underperformed its predecessor in both profits and ratings. That means that even if her initial salary was bigger, her overall takeaway was likely much smaller.
Related: How to Stream 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' 1 and 2
What did My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 make at the box office?
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 was released 14 years after the first movie and met with much less success. It had a budget of $18 million and made $90.6 million worldwide. Compared to the $360 million-plus profit margin of the original MBFGW, it could be considered a bit of a flop.
What other movies has Nia Vardalos made?
Vardalos has written and starred in several other movies, including Connie & Carla (2004) and I Hate Valentine’s Day (2009), for which she re-teamed with Corbett. She also wrote the Hanks vehicle Larry Crowne (2011).
