Rebel Wilson’s long path to fame and fortune was anything but easy, with the Australian actress overcoming extreme adversity throughout her early life and career.
The Sydney-born star, 45, struggled with family turmoil and physical abuse before she finally made it in Hollywood.
As a child, Rebel grew up in Sydney with her parents Warwick and Sue and her three younger siblings in a household marked by instability.
In her 2024 memoir Rebel Rising, the actress reflected on the lasting impact of growing up with her late father Warwick, who died in 2013 aged 62 from a heart attack.
She recalled his volatile temper, struggles with alcoholism, and bouts of violence, saying his pervasive ‘dodginess’ had a profound impact on her.
Rebel made the heartbreaking admission that she and her siblings felt as though they were constantly walking on eggshells in his presence, having to be extremely careful not to do anything that would make him angry.
Rebel Wilson’s long path to fame and fortune was anything but easy, with the Australian actress overcoming extreme adversity throughout her early life and career
Rebel grew up in Sydney with her parents Warwick and Sue and her three younger siblings in a household marked by instability. Pictured with her mother Sue and three siblings Liberty, Anna and Ryot
However, despite their best efforts, they still faced the brunt of his anger on many occasions.
She recalled one shocking incident when she was 12 and asked her father to buy her a Slurpee during a day out.
Rebel’s father was infuriated by the request and allegedly grabbed her leg and threatened to ‘choke’ and ‘kill’ her if she spoke again.
On another occasion, she claims he struck her repeatedly after mistakenly thinking she had wet the bed, leaving visible marks on her arms and legs.
The Bridesmaids actress opened up about her difficult upbringing on a podcast last year and admitted parts of it shaped who she was – for better or worse – as a person.
‘Why I have certain parts of my personality, and I do comedy, is because my dad had dodginess everywhere,’ she told The Diary of a CEO podcast.
‘Alcoholism, addictions and also a mentality that is a bit dodgy. There is a dark side. If I didn’t have that, I don’t think I would be as interesting as a person.’
Rebel has often credited the difficulties of her childhood with giving her the resilience to push through both personal and professional challenges.
Rebel has also spoken publicly about her personal life and health. She came out as a lesbian at age 42. (Pictured: partner Ramona Agruma)
Rebel has also spoken publicly about her personal life and health.
The veteran performer struggled with being overweight for years, and only after making a firm commitment to healthy living did she finally manage to shed the kilos – and change her outlook on life in the process.
Her dedication to shedding the pounds saw her drop more than 36kg in 2021, after she began both eating healthier and hitting the gym regularly.
Rebel previously said that her Pitch Perfect movie contract prohibited her from losing weight, as her comic relief character was – literally – defined by how big she was, being called ‘Fat Amy’.
In July 2021, she revealed on Instagram Live about her weight loss journey: ‘It first started when I was looking into fertility stuff and the doctor was like, “Well, you’d have a much better chance if you were healthier.”
‘That’s kind of what started it, that if I lost some excess weight that it would give me a better chance for freezing eggs and having the eggs be a better quality. It wasn’t even really myself, it was more thinking of a future mini–me, really.’
She spoke about her fertility again with People in May 2022.
She shared: ‘I only started thinking of fertility when I was 39 so you feel quite late but then there are women in their mid-40s who’ve been successful.’
Rebel added, ‘Look at Janet Jackson, it’s pretty inspiring,’ referring to Janet giving birth to her son at age 50.
When she discussed fertility treatments with a doctor: ‘He looked me up and down and said, “You’d do much better if you were healthier.”‘
Rebel confessed: ‘I was taken aback. I thought, “Oh God, this guy’s so rude.” He was right. I was carrying around a lot of excess weight.’
She reflected at the time, ‘It’s almost like I didn’t think of my own needs. I thought of a future child’s needs that really inspired me to get healthier.’
The veteran performer struggled with being overweight for years and only after making a firm commitment to healthy living did she manage to shed the kilos. Pictured in 2015 (left) and in 2025 (right)
Rebel is now mother to two-year-old daughter Royce, who she welcomed via surrogate and co-parents with wife Ramona Agruma.
In regards to how she achieved her weight loss, she focused on becoming more active by walking and doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with her personal trainer.
She also came out as a lesbian in 2022 aged 42, introducing her partner, designer Ramona Agruma, on Instagram.
At the time, she joked that she had spent years ‘searching for a Disney Prince’ only to realise what she really needed was a ‘Disney Princess.’
Friends later said by falling in love with Ramona and later having a child with her in November 2022, daughter Royce, Rebel headed into ‘an amazing place’ where she was happier than ever.
Rebel has been open about emotional overeating and the long-term effects of stress, – but said the process helped her regain control over her wellbeing and self-worth.
The actress has also reflected on relationships, admitting she struggled romantically in her twenties but credits that period with allowing her to focus on her career.
In recent years, she has described her current relationship with her wife Ramona – who she married in September 2024 – as ‘equal’ and ‘healthy’ – an enormous contrast to her earlier experiences.
In May 2024, Rebel said being with Ramona made her feel so much better about herself, as she did not initially believe she was ‘worthy’ of love.
She admitted that her journey to self-love was anything but smooth.
Rebel finally found her happy ending with partner Ramona Agruma
‘I get a bit emotional about that because why does a girl feel like that? Just feel like not good enough and not lovable?’ she said on Channel Ten’s The Project.
‘And then, yes, there have been things that have happened in my life, not massive traumas, but little things that have led to me feeling that way and I didn’t feel lovable or worthy,’ she continued.
‘And that’s why I was eating all that crap and junk food late at night because I felt like I was trash and treating my body like trash.’
Rebel says that she processed her negative emotions after her father’s death, and after beginning her weight loss journey, that saw her lose 36 kilos and led to her finding true love.
‘I was being able to have true intimacy with somebody and really let somebody in and that happened to be my partner,’ she said.
Rebel has finally found her happy ending – Ramona, 41, is now pregnant with their second child.
