Best known as Tom Hanks's wife, Rita is also a successful actress in her own right. Born Margarita Ibrahimoff, Rita was discovered at the age of 14, by a fashion photographer, and began modelling.

She later began her career acting in Los Angeles, landing a recurring role on 'M*A*S*H', as Nurse Lacey.

Rita decided to turn her career around, and accepted an invitation to work and train at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. During her time in England, she appeared in numerous stage productions at London's Macowan Theatre.

She returned to the US, and met Tom Hanks in 1981, on the set of 'Bosom Buddies', when she guest-starred as Peter Scolari's Satan-worshipping girlfriend. However, their relationship wasn't kindled until they were reunited on the set of 'Volunteers', where she landed a starring role as a Peace Corps worker, opposite Hanks, whom she married in 1988.

Rita also had a role in 'Bonfire of the Vanities', prior to success in the hit, 'Sleepless in Seattle'.

Credit: thebiographychannel.co.uk