Giving back: Rebel Wilson announces a scholarship program for female comedy writers
She has made a name for herself as one of Hollywood’s funniest women.
And Rebel Wilson is giving back to the comedy community by opening a scholarship program in her name at the Australian Theatre for Young People.
The Bridesmaids actress, 40, announced the news via Instagram on Thursday.
For the arts: Rebel Wilson put a call out to female comedy writers on Thursday as she announced applications are open for a scholarship in her name at the Australian Theatre For Young People
Applications for the 2021 Rebel Wilson Comedy Commission are open now, and the winners for this year have been notified.
The Pitch Perfect star said: ‘I’m so proud of all the winners of this scholarship – they’re spectacularly talented and I’m so happy I can give back in this small way.
‘Expressing yourself and expressing positive messages through the creative arts is so important.’
Paying it forward: The actress, 40, shared a photo of the poster that featured her beaming and wrote: ‘I’m so happy I can give back in this small way. Expressing yourself and expressing positive messages through the creative arts is so important’
Rebel’s first role was on Australian TV series Fat Pizza in 2003.
In 2011, she got her big break in Hollywood in Bridesmaids alongside the likes of Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live) and Matt Lucas (Little Britain).
She gained worldwide recognition in the 2012 sleeper hit Pitch Perfect, in which she played Tasmanian exchange student ‘Fat Amy’ Hobart.
Rise to fame: Rebel’s first role was on Australian TV in the SBS comedy series Fat Pizza as Toula in 2003. But she gained world-wide recognition in the 2012 smash hit Pitch Perfect, as Australian exchange student Fat Amy (pictured second right)
Rebel went on to star in two more Pitch Perfect films. Her other credits include Isn’t It Romantic, The Hustle and Jojo Rabbit.
She took a step back from Hollywood this year to focus on her health, losing about 30kg with the help of personal trainer Jono Castano.
In an interview with People, Rebel revealed she switched to a high-protein diet, which she said was ‘challenging’ because she wasn’t a big meat eater before.
Putting her through her paces: Rebel dubbed 2020 her ‘year of health’ on Instagram. She returned to Sydney, at the start of the pandemic, and began a regime of working out six days a week, with the help of her personal trainer Jono Castano