Peta Gia Wilson (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian actress, lingerie designer and model. She is best known as Nikita in the television series '' La Femme Nikita''.

Biography

Early life

Wilson was born in Sydney on 18 November 1970. She is the daughter of the caterer Karlene White Wilson and Darcy Wilson, a former

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

. She spent several years in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

when her father was stationed there. Her parents divorced in 1982.

Career

Wilson worked first as a model in Australia and in Europe before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1991. There she studied acting with Arthur Mendoza at the Actors Circle Theatre, and with

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

at the TomKat Repertory Group. After five years of study, she was hired for some small roles in independent films such as ''Naked Jane'' and ''Loser''. In 1996, she was preparing to continue her studies at an acting school in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, but decided to audition first for a new television show being produced for the USA cable TV channel in North America. Over 200 actresses auditioned for the starring role, and Wilson was chosen. The show was called '' La Femme Nikita'', based on the French action thriller movie '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). The hour-long series was produced by a combination of Canadian and American companies. It ran for five years and 96 episodes (22 episodes per season for four years, and another eight episodes in its fifth and final TV year). Most were filmed in and around

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Wilson's co-stars were

Roy Dupuis Roy Michael Joseph Dupuis (; born April 21, 1963) is a Canadian actor best known in America for his role as counterterrorism operative Michael Samuelle in the television series '' La Femme Nikita''. In Canada, specifically Quebec, he's known for ...

Don Francks Don Harvey Francks (February 28, 1932 – April 3, 2016), also known by his stage name Iron Buffalo, was a Canadian actor, musician and singer. Career Don Harvey Francks was born on February 28, 1932, and was adopted shortly after his birth. H ...

Alberta Watson Faith Susan Alberta Watson (March 6, 1955 – March 21, 2015), better known as Alberta Watson, was a Canadian film and television actress. Early life Watson was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1955.Rita Zekas"Alberta's Feeling At Home On Deranged", ...

and

Eugene Robert Glazer Eugene Robert Glazer (born December 16, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of "Operations" on the TV show '' La Femme Nikita''. Glazer was raised in Brooklyn, New York, and worked at a variety of jobs be ...

. Wilson was twice nominated for the annual

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

for "Best Performance by An Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role". Vladimir Putin 27 June 2001-2

In 2001, Wilson took part in the

Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

, where she met Russian president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, who confessed to being a fan of hers. She portrayed real-life actress

Anny Ondra Anny Ondra (born Anna Sophie Ondráková; 15 May 1903 – 28 February 1987) was a Czech film actress. She began her career in 1920 and appeared in Czech, German, Austrian, French and English films. In 1933, she married German boxing champion ...

in the television movie ''

Joe and Max ''Joe and Max'' is a 2002 American-German boxing film directed by Steve James (producer), Steve James and based on the true story of the Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, two boxing matches between American Joe Louis and German Max Schmeling. Plot In ...

'' (2002). She also appeared as the vampire

Mina Harker Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker (née Murray) is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. In the novel She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young schoolmistress who is engaged t ...

in the 2003 film ''

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a comic book series (inspired by the 1960 British film ''The League of Gentlemen'') co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The series spans four volum ...

''. During 2006, she appeared on an Australian TV mystery anthology drama ''

Two Twisted ''Two Twisted'' is an Australian TV mystery anthology drama which premiered on the Nine Network on 14 August 2006. Narrated by Bryan Brown, who also produced the series' predecessor, '' Twisted Tales'', each episode of the series contains two sh ...

,'' and had a small role in the movie ''

Superman Returns ''Superman Returns'' is a 2006 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris (screenwriter), Dan Harris from a story by Singer, Dougherty and Harris based on the DC Comics character Superman. I ...

'' as the character Bobbie-Faye, a

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

spokeswoman. In 2009, Wilson starred in an Australian independent film ''

Beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

''. She guest starred on ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

'' (2010) and '' The Finder'' (2012). In 2012, she launched a lingerie label, Wylie Wilson, with a flagship store in Los Angeles. In 2013, Wilson received the Best Actress Award at the Cinerockom International Film Festival for her performance as CIA agent Marla Criswell in the short film ''Liberator''.

Personal life

Wilson lived with her longtime boyfriend, director

Damian Harris Damian David Harris (born 2 August 1958) is a British film director and screenwriter. He is the eldest son of the actor Richard Harris and socialite Elizabeth Rees-Williams. Career In 1968, Harris debuted on screen playing Miles in the film ' ...

, from 1997 until their separation in 2002. They have a son named Marlowe.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Peta 1970 births Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Living people Actresses from Sydney 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses