News

Tom Hanks just officially became a Greek citizen and even the prime minister is celebrating

Tom Hanks just officially became a Greek citizen and even the prime minister is celebrating
Getty

One of the world’s favourite Americans is now also Greek.

Beloved actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson officially became Greek citizens over the weekend, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis proudly revealed the news on Instagram.

Mitsotakis shared a snapshot over the weekend of himself and wife Mareva Grabowski with Hanks and Wilson while they held up their new passports.

"@ritawilson @tomhanks are now proud Greek citizens!" Mitsotakis wrote as the photo caption.

Wilson, who is of Greek descent on her mother’s side, discovered the extent of her heritage on an episode of 'Who Do You Think You Are?' — a TV show that follows celebrities tracing their family trees.

Hanks revealed back in January that he'd been made an honorary citizen, and celebrated the new year as such.

"Starting 2020 as an Honorary citizen of all of Greece! Kronia pola! (more or less, “happy year!”)," he tweeted at the time.

"Tom Hanks is a person who showed real interest in the people who suffered from the fire in Mati and promoted this issue in the global media," Greek Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos told CNN in a statement in December.

The couple have often been spotted spending their vacations in Greece, where they also own property on the island of Antiparos.

"I've been Hellenic now for the better part of 32 years," Hanks told reporters at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. "Greece is a haven... I've been around the world, I've been to the most beautiful places in the world, none of them tops Greece."

"The land, the sky, the water, it's good for the soul, it's a healing place," Hanks said.

The Conversation (0)