Rebel Wilson’s achievements in Hollywood are nothing to scoff at. She turned a cameo role in Bridesmaids into a full-fledged career, starring in films alongside big names like Anne Hathaway and Ben Stiller.
Let’s get to know her achievements…and maybe some of her controversies.
1. As it turns out, “Rebel” is actually not her real name.
Rebel’s full name is actually Melanie Elizabeth Bownds. Doesn’t sound like “Rebel” at all, does it?
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“Rebel” was a childhood nickname that she decided to take on as her first name.
She then changed her last name to “Wilson,” and kept her first and middle names.
For those keeping track, that makes her name Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson.
Honestly, that’s a pretty great name if you ask me. Not many people could get away with it, but she can.
2. She has a law degree.
“I did law and arts. I graduated in 2009 and even then I didn’t know what was going to happen with the acting. I could be a practising lawyer if I wanted to be,” She told the Sydney Herald.
3. She moved in with her “Bridesmaids” co-star.
She and Matt Lucas played siblings who lived together in Bridesmaids .
They had so much fun together that they decided to move in together in real life. They lived in West Hollywood for three years, and apparently annoyed their neighbors . A lot.
4. She sued a newspaper.
Australian magazine Woman’s Day published an article claiming that Rebel had lied about her age, upbringing, and life experiences.
Rebel successfully sued their parent company, Bauer Media, for defamation. She was awarded $4.5 million, which she pledged to donate.
5. She became a spokesperson for Jenny Craig.
In 2012, she joined Jenny Craig Australia and became a spokesperson. She lost 22 pounds — but then, Pitch Perfect came along.
Contractually , she couldn’t lose weight during the filming of the movie. Her character’s weight couldn’t fluctuate from scene to scene!
6. She might be related to Walt Disney.
She has stated that her great-aunt is Lillian Bounds, who was Walt Disney’s wife until his death in 1966.
However, genealogist Dale Sheridan says she is not related to Walt Disney. Rebel, however, claims her grandmother told her she was.
7. Her siblings have interesting names, too.
She has two sisters, Liberty and Annaleise. Annaleise goes by “Annachi,” which would be an awesome band name.
Her brother goes by the name “Ryot.” Their whole family sure loves their unique names!
And they’ve done a few notable things.
Ryot and Liberty competed on The Amazing Race Australia in 2011.
Unfortunately, they found themselves in last place on the first leg of the journey, and were the first team to go home.
8. Rebel staged a protest against Victoria’s Secret.
She showed up to the MTV Movie Awards in 2015 wearing leather leggings, giant angel wings, and a bra.
“Girls will pick Victoria’s Secret models and think they have to model themselves after that,” she said .
9. She once claimed she was the first plus-sized woman to star in a romantic comedy.
Which obviously isn’t true. Mo’Nique, Queen Latifah, and Melissa McCarthy say hey.
After multiple women — notably, a large amount of black women — objected to her claim, she blocked them all on Twitter.
It wasn’t until Mo’Nique herself, as well as playwright Claire Willett, pointed out how wrong she was that Rebel decided to walk back her statements and unblock the other users.
She obviously made the right call in doing so.
10. She lived in Zimbabwe for a year.
While living in South Africa as a Youth Ambassador, she contracted malaria.
She suffered hallucinations, one of which was of herself accepting an Oscar.
It was those hallucinations that made her want to become an actress.
11. She really, REALLY loves Disney World.
Her Instagram is full of various trips to Florida, where she often snacks on churros and takes pictures with Mickey.
In fact, she loves Disney World so much that she and her family spent Christmas of 2018 there. Goals.
12. She watches trashy TV.
While appearing on Conan in 2012, Rebel confessed that she loved watching _Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.”
The reason? She watches it to work on her American accent, which she demonstrated for Conan.
13. Her ultimate childhood dream was to create a theme park.
That makes sense for such a big Disney fan.
“I’m a distant relative of Walt Disney. I just need a few billion dollars to create my own theme park in Australia to rival Disneyland,” She said .
14. She created and starred in her own TV show.
The show was Super Fun Night , which I’m 90% sure only I watched.
It followed the lives of three women who set aside Friday nights to be “fun nights.” It only lasted a season.
15. She was actually paid money to be bigger.
“I had a job where I was paid a lot of money to be bigger, at times which kind of can mess with your head a bit,” she said.
Hollywood has a nasty problem of putting an intense amount of pressure on their female stars when it comes to their bodies.
16. She has admitted that she is an emotional eater.
“I’m not only working on the physical side but I am working on the emotional side. I’m a bit of an emotional eater. So I’ve been trying to work on my mind, listen to a lot of podcasts about it and trying to learn and grow,” she said.
“It is half in your mind as well.”
“It’s been going well though. Hopefully by the end of this pandemic I’ll be ripped!” she said.
Keep up the good work, Rebel! You’re doing amazing, sweetie.
17. She used to work at a sunglasses store (and other places) to pay off her debts.
“I had to work off that debt at a sunglasses store and the cinemas and doing all sorts of jobs. When you look back on stuff like that, you’re like, ‘Whoa, I’ve really come a massive way.'”
“The difference now is huge — staying in a suite at the Ritz, going to whatever restaurant I want, and having lovely drivers take you around so you don’t have to walk around to see the sights.”
She definitely worked her way up!
18. Some people are too intimidated to date her.
“People get very intimidated, which is weird, the idea that I would be intimidating to anyone. But it happens all the time, to the point that someone I really liked was so intimidated and got a lot of anxiety and couldn’t have a relationship with me because I’m in the public eye.”
