Peta Wilson


Peta Wilson
Character name: Nikita
Full name:	Peta Gia Wilson
Date of Birth:	November 18, 1970
Place of Birth:	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality:	Australian
Nikita franchise:	La Femme Nikita
GALLERY

Peta Wilson (born November 18, 1970; age 54) is the Australian actress and model who portrayed Nikita on La Femme Nikita. For her acting in La Femme Nikita, Wilson was nominated twice for the annual Gemini Award for "Best Performance by An Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role" and once for the annual Saturn Awards for "Best Genre TV Actress".

Early Life[]

Peta Gia Wilson was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on November 18, 1970. She is the daughter of Karlene White Wilson, a caterer, and Darcy Wilson, a former Warrant Officer in the Australian Army. Born into a military family, Wilson moved frequently as a child and lived eight years in Papua New Guinea while her father was stationed there. Her parents divorced in 1982 and she spent some time living with her grandmother. Peta was enrolled in deportment classes by her mother out of concern that she was too much of a tomboy. As a teenager, she was the youngest member of the Australian netball team. Peta's younger brother Rob Wilson is an Australian army truck driver.

Career[]

Peta Wilson worked first as a model in Australia and in Europe before moving to Los Angeles in 1991. There she studied acting with Arthur Mendoza, a protégé of Stella Adler, at the Actors Circle Theatre, and with Tom Waits at the TomKat Repertory Group. After five years of study that mostly consisted of theater work, she was hired for some small roles in independent films such as Naked Jane (1995), The Sadness of Sex (1995) and Loser (1996).

In 1996, then 25 year old Peta was preparing to continue her studies at an acting school in New York City, 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 to portray the title character of Nikita in the television adaptation of Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita (film). Producers often cite not only her ability to navigate the emotional depth required of Nikita but her physicality, natural charisma and her strong insight on the character's journey as instrumental in her winning the role. The series filmed in Toronto, Canada for five years from 1996 through 2000.

After the end of La Femme Nikita, in 2001 Peta Wilson starred as the lead of a Warner Bros. produced NBC pilot titled Other People that was described as a cross between Erin Brockovich and The Practice. It wasn't picked up by the network.

In March 2002 she gave birth to a son, Marlowe, with former long term boyfriend director Damien Harris. The couple has since separated, but continued to coparent their son,

In June 2002, she replaced Monica Bellucci as Mina Harker in the feature film adaptation of Roger Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentleman with Sean Connery.^[1] In 2006 she had a small role in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns.

Aside from a few roles over the years, Peta Wilson is mostly semi retired from acting while she focuses on business ventures in Los Angeles and raising her son in Australia.

Saturn Awards

1998 Best Genre TV Actress - La Femme Nikita (nominated)
2003 Best Supporting Actress - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (nominated)

Gemini Awards (Canada's highest television award). It was later merged with the Genie Awards (Canada's highest film award) in 2013 to create the Canadian Screen Awards.

1997 Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role - La Femme Nikita (nominated)
1999 Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role - La Femme Nikita (nominated)

Select Filmography[]

Film[]

Movie	Role	Year	Notes
Naked Jane		1995	Feature film debut
The Sadness of Sex	Girl of His Dreams	1995
Loser	Alyssha Rourke	1996
One of Our Own	Corporal Jennifer Vaughn	1997
Mercy	Vickie Kittrie	2000
Joe and Max	Anny Ondra	2002	TV Movie
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen	Mina Harker	2003	Nominated - Saturn Award Best Supporting Actress
Superman Returns	Bobbie-Faye	2006
Gardens of the Night	Sarah	2007
Beautiful	Sherrie	2009
Liberator	Marla Criswell	2012	Short Film
Dutch Kills	Ladye Bishop	2015

Television[]

Show	Role	Year(s)	Notes
Woman Undone	Receptionist	1995	TV Movie
Strangers	Martha	1996	Episode: "Going Without"
Highlander: The Series	Inspector	1996	Episode: "Promises"
Vanishing Point	Motorcycle Girl	1997	TV Movie
La Femme Nikita	Nikita	1997-2001	96 Episodes
A Girl Thing	Alex	2001	Miniseries
Other People	Harriet Stone	2001	Unsold NBC Drama Pilot
False Pretenses	Dianne/Deedee	2004	TV Movie
Jonny Zero	Aly	2005	Episode: "Bounty" & "Diamonds & Guns"
Two Twisted	Mischa Sparkle	2006	Episode: "A Flash Exclusive" - Australian Miniseries
Malibu Shark Attack	Heather	2009	TV Movie
CSI: Miami	Amanda	2010	Episode: "Sudden Death
The Finder	Pope	2012	Episode: "Little Green Men"
Troppo	Eve	2022	5 Episodes

Music Video[]

Artist	Title	Year
Angel And The Mambokats	"Your Love Just Ain't Right"	1990
James Reyne	"Slave"	1991
Mark "Diesel" Lizotte	"Tip Of My Tongue"	1992

Trivia[]

During the production of the first season of La Femme Nikita, Peta Wilson's grandmother moved with her to Toronto where the series was filmed to act as a support system for her.
Nikita's affinity for sunglasses during season one sprung from Peta Wilson's own collaboration with the Australian sunglasses company Jonathan Sceats. Many of the sunglasses featured were her own.
Peta Wilson is a lover of classic American cars and has amassed a small collection of favorites over the years.
In 1998 Peta Wilson was featured in a promotional ad spot for Bally Total Fitness.
In 2002 she had a beach front home built near Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia on 12 acres of national park land, which she's coined Marlowe House after her son. ^[2]
From 2005-2006 Peta Wilson was a brand ambassador for the luxury sunglasses company Serengeti.
In 2012, she launched a lingerie label, Wylie Wilson, with a flagship store in Venice, California. Forty percent of profits were donated to the Pegasus Liberty Foundation, which supports local and international organizations working on the front line around the world to free and rehabilitate slaves.^[3] The storefront was open for more than five years, but was closed by the time the COVID-19 pandemic struck.