In addition to a successful career as an actress, Margarita Ibrahimoff, who is better known by her stage name Rita Wilson, is also a singer-songwriter and producer. Wilson has had many film and TV roles, but it was her appearance in the Broadway show 'Chicago' in 2006 that led her to want to pursue a solo musical career in addition to her acting.
She released her first album AM/FM in 2012 - a collection of classic songs from the 1960s and '70s. After this, she began co-writing her own songs with a selection of writers including Kara Dioguardi, Dan Wilson and Jason Reeves. Her second album 'Rita Wilson' (2016) consisted of original songs, all co-written by Wilson. The first song she wrote for the album was 'Grateful', which she wrote with Dioguardi and Reeves. Also included on the album was the song 'Bad Things' which was written for the film 'Dawn Patrol' in which Wilson also starred. To promote the album, Wilson went on tour with US rock band Chicago, who she says are one of the biggest influences on her music.
In 2018, Wilson started recording a series of three albums. The first, 'Bigger Picture' contains a majority of songs co-written by Wilson and others, but also two cover tracks of Cat Stephens' 'The Wind' and Burt Bacharach and Hal David's 'What the World Needs Now Is Love'. Her fourth album 'Halfway to Home' followed in 2019 on which her songs draw on the influence of storytelling and take inspiration from her own life. Also in 2019 she released the single 'Let Me Be' in collaboration with Christos Mastoras. Wilson has performed on several American TV shows to promote her music and continues to star in films and in TV shows. She has been married to the actor Tom Hanks since 1988 and together they work for several charities, particularly for underprivileged children and cancer charities.
