Who is Peta Wilson?
Peta is an Australian actress, perhaps best known to the world as Nikita in the TV series “La Femme Nikita” (1997-2001), and as Mina Harker in the film “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” (2003), among many other popular roles that she’s secured in her career.
Where is Peta Wilson Now? What is she doing today?
The famous Nikita took an hiatus from acting starting in 2015, which lasted until most recently, when she returned as Eve in the TV crime-thriller series “Troppo”, in which she co-stars with Thomas Jane, Nicole Chamoun and David Lyons.
Peta Wilson Wiki: Age, Childhood, and Education
Peta Gia Wilson was born on 18 November 1970 under the Scorpio zodiac sign, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the daughter of Darcy Wilson, a former Warrant Officer in the Australian Army, and his wife Karlene White Wilson, who was a caterer.
Her father was stationed in Papua New Guinea for several years during Peta’s childhood, and as a result, the whole family lived there; although she spent eight years of her childhood in Papua New Guinea, she doesn’t like talking about this period. The family didn’t have power or running water more often than not, and she also contracted malaria, and was sick for almost nine months.
After recovering, she became focused on sport, as she began taking judo lessons and assumed a healthy lifestyle.
Unfortunately, her parents divorced in 1982, and as she didn’t want to choose between living with her mom or dad, she was then raised by her grandparents.
Their divorce struck her and her five-years younger brother Rob hard. She often switched schools, and eventually matriculated from an all-girls Catholic High School in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Later, Wilson studied acting at the Actors’ Circle Theatre with Arthur Mendoza, and at the TomKat Repertory Group, with Tom Waits.
Career Beginnings
Before becoming an international acting star, Peta worked as a model, and was building a name for herself in Australia and Europe before moving to Los Angeles in 1991. Once in the city of angels, Peta started taking acting classes, which lasted for five years before she made her acting debut.
She launched her career in 1995, with minor roles in films such as the drama “Naked Jane”, directed and written by Linda Kandel and starring Renee Stahl, Christian Svensson, and Stefan Walker, then came the romantic comedy film “The Sadness of Sex”, in which she appeared next to Barry Yourgrau and Barbara Baumann.
The following year, she appeared in Kirk Harris’s drama film “Loser”, which starred Harris, Jonathan Chaus and Norman Saleet.
Rise to Stardom
She was preparing to continue her acting classes in New York City, however, when she found out about an audition for a new television show produced for the USA Cable TV channel in North America, she auditioned for the role as one of 200 actresses, and was selected for the part of Nikita thanks to her attractive looks, her mixed martial arts skills, and her deep voice.
The show was based on the French action thriller film “La Femme Nikita” from 1990, and the TV show had the same name. It premiered in 1997 and aired until 1997, with Peta starring as Nikita, a homeless young woman recruited by Section One, an elite, top-secret counter-terrorism organization. The show became a massive hit in the US and throughout the world, as it was telecast in several countries. It became the highest-rated drama on American basic cable; Nikita became the fan-favorite as her character was on the side of justice.
Thanks to the popularity of the series, Peta turned into an international star. Moreover, she received several award nominations for her work on the TV series, including two Gemini and a Saturn Award.
Continued Success
Concurrently while playing Nikita, Peta worked on other projects. In 1997, she appeared in the television action-adventure movie “Vanishing Point”, with Viggo Mortensen, Christine Elise and Steve Railsback, and the same year played Cpl. Jennifer Vaughn in the crime-drama film “One of Our Own”, with Michael Ironside, Currie Graham and Frederic Forrest as the main stars.
She starred in the mystery-thriller film “Mercy” (2000) alongside Ellen Barkin and Wendy Crewson, and in 2001 appeared in the television movie “A Girl Thing”, starring Kate Capshaw, Stockard Channing and Mia Farrow.
The following year, Peta had a supporting role in the television biopic about Joe Louis and Max Schmeling, entitled “Joe and Max”, and in 2003, Peta secured another prominent role as Mina Harker in the critically acclaimed fantasy-action adventure film “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”, co-starring the late-great Sean Connery, Stuart Townsend and Jason Flemyng. Her performance earned her a second Saturn Award nomination.
She continued pretty successfully throughout the 2000s, as she made an appearance in the film “Superman Returns” (2006) as Bobbie-Faye, and was then Sarah in the award-winning drama film “Gardens of the Night” (2008), which starred Gillian Jacobs, John Malkovich and Ryan Simpkins, following the next year by starring with Deborra-Lee Furness and Aaron Jeffery in the thriller-drama film “Beautiful”.
With the start of the new decade, Peta’s career began declining, and after a few minor roles in short films such as “Liberator” (2012), and featuring in the 2015 thriller crime-drama film “Dutch Kills”, she decided to take a break from acting.
Net Worth
As of mid- 2022, Peta Wilson’s net worth has been estimated to be close to $10 million, earned through her successful career as an actress, during which she’s appeared in around 30 film and TV titles.
Personal Life, Dating, Personal Life, Married, Children
When it comes to her personal life, Peta was in a relationship with director Damian Harris from 1997 to 2002. The couple lived together and welcomed a son named Marlowe Harris-Wilson in February 2002, however, they broke up just a few months after his birth.
She dated Dan Wyllie from 2005 to 2007, and from 2007 to 2008, she was in a relationship with actor Aaron Jeffery. She’s now officially single.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
The prominent actress has blonde hair and blue eyes. She stands at the height of 5ft 10ins (1.78m), weighs approximately 125lbs (57kgs), with vital statistics of 34-24-34, bra size 34B.
Hobbies, Interests, and Trivia
Peta is known for her athletic figure – she does yoga regularly, swims, scuba dives, and enjoys horseback riding.
She battled anorexia when she was 17 years old but overcame health issues.
Peta is a lingerie designer, and in 2012 launched her own lingerie label, Wylie Wilson. The brand now has its flagship store in Los Angeles, California, USA.
