The 63-year-old actress may be married to one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, but Rita Wilson is a powerhouse talent in her own right. She has been acting since the 1970s, getting her SAG card by playing a cheerleader on The Brady Bunch. During that time, as well as in the early 1980s, Rita appeared in other legendary shows like  M*A*S*H, Happy Days, Who's The Boss? and Three's Company. Her most famous roles though are on film in Sleepless in Seattle, Jingle All the Way and Volunteers.

RELATED: 20 Young Actors Who Are Poised To Take Hollywood By Storm

They say that show business isn't kind to women of a certain age, hence parts are scarce, but the talented Wilson works consistently, filming three movies in 2019 alone. These are things you might not have known about her.

10 She Beat Cancer

One out of eight women gets breast cancer. In 2015, Rita was that one. She is now healthy and cancer-free but has admitted via social media to feeling very afraid and anxious.

RELATED: 10 Times Tom Hanks Proved He Was The Sweetest Person Alive

Determined to be strong and upbeat for her family, she joked that if anything happened to her, she expected her husband Tom Hanks, to be, "Super sad for a very long time," and throw her a party. Wilson cites his care from diagnosis through her double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery as what helped get her through the ordeal.

9 She's The Reason My Big Fat Greek Wedding Got Produced

Because of her Greek heritage, (she was born and raised in Hollywood as Margarita Ibrahimoff to a Greek mother and Bulgarian father), Rita made sure to see fellow Hellenic Nia Vardalos's autobiographical, one-woman show. She loved it and convinced her husband's film company, Playtone, to turn it into a movie. Having these A-listers at the helm made it an extremely attractive project for financiers and distributors to get involved with. Rita's instincts were right. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the top money-making independent film of all time.

8 She's A Classically Trained Actress

After graduating from Hollywood High, the native Californian headed to England to study at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She was awarded the Los Angeles Drama-Logue Award for Best Actress in As You Like It on the stage. She made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago and starred Off-Broadway in Nora and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss and What I Wore. Wilson is also a successful producer with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, as well as Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again to her credit. In 2019, Rita's well-deserved star landed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

7 She's A Mom On And Off-Screen

At age 33, two years after they got married, Rita and Tom welcomed their son Chester into the world. Six years later, their second son Truman was born. Chester is married with children and proudly in recovery. Truman is pursuing a career in Hollywood. She is also step-mother to Tom's kids from his first marriage, Mad Men actor Colin and Elizabeth, a writer. Wilson has also played many moms (as well as best friends) in her long career, most famously the sexy mother of Marnie Michaels (Allison Williams) on the HBO hit Girls.

6 She Has Been Married To Tom Hanks Since 1988

Although their relationship blossomed when they portrayed members of the Peace Corps in the 1985 hit Volunteers, that was not Rita and Tom's first meeting or time as co-stars.

RELATED: 5 Celebrity Couples Who Hate The Spotlight (& 5 Who Love It)

In 1981, she played the girlfriend of Hank's Bosom Buddies partner in drag, Peter Scolari. Of her unusually long marriage (by Hollywood's standards anyway) she advises: "Don't advertise your man," (because someone will try and steal him) and, "You've got to want to be married to the person you're married to."

5 She's A Magazine Writer/Editor

Rita boasts quite the journalism career. As well as a magazine cover girl, she is currently a contributing editor at Harper's Bazaar. She has also written articles for the Washington Post, Oprah Magazine, the Huffington Post where she founded and named the section targeted to mature women, Huff/Post 50 and became its first Editor at Large. She has written about being a cancer survivor, a grandparent, an empty-nester and about her escapades with husband Tom Hanks as well as much more that draws on her vast life experiences.

4 She's A Singer, Songwriter, And Recording Artist

"I always wanted to sing. I didn't know how to do it. I didn't know how to make the singing thing happen." Rita figured it out.

She has released six albums, Halfway To Home, Bigger Picture, Rita Wilson, The Christmas Sessions, and AM/FM, with plans for more. For her songwriting, she has collaborated with some of the biggest names on the Nashville music scene. Wilson says of penning the tunes she records: "You have to lay it all on the line. It's scary, but it's good to feel that kind of fear. It's exhilarating."

3 She's An Activist

Rita Wilson has been a champion of charitable causes for over two decades. Along with her husband, Tom Hanks, and friends Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, she has co-chaired the Women's Cancer Research Fund and contributed to the Moffitt Cancer Center.

RELATED: 10 Celebrities Who Are Anti-Bullying Activists

She and Hanks also support The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, raising funds to support programs for underprivileged youth, as well as other charities including AIDS Project Los Angeles. Rita and Tom have made significant contributions to help the people who suffered from the Mati Fire in Greece, earning them honorary naturalization in that country.

2 She's A Fine Artist

Rita Wilson works in watercolors. Many years ago, the actress signed up for a class on a lark to stretch yet another of her many creative muscles and admits, "I was terrible." Never one to give up easily, she kept at it, and now it's not only her much-loved hobby but yet another source of philanthropy. During summer 2018 she painted still lifes of antiquities from the collection of the Cycladic Museum of Art in Athens. They are on sale via its website with profits helping the museum's community programs.

1 She's Resourceful

When her glam squad went MIA hours before the 2020 Golden Globes, where her husband Tom Hanks was being honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Rita took to Instagram, putting out an APB for her hair and makeup people via a make-up free selfie. The 5'7" stunner did show up at the event wearing Tom Ford, with not a hair out of place, and with a sultry smokey eye. Did her team ever show up or did she DIY? Rita won't tell. Where there's a will, there's a way.

NEXT: The 15 Shortest Celebrity Marriages On The Books (And 5 Of The Longest)

Next 10 Best Hilary Duff Songs Of The 2000s, Ranked
About The Author