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Rebel Wilson makes $1 million announcement: 'A huge gift'
She might be a huge Hollywood star but Sydney-born Pitch Perfect actor Rebel Wilson hasn't forgotten where she came from.
The 41-year-old has appeared in a sweet Instagram video to announce that she's donating a whopping $1 million to the Australian Theatre for Young People.
It's a cause close to Rebel's heart, having been both a student and a staff member at ATYP in her late teens and early 20s.
"I started performing at the Australian Theatre for Young People, basically from when I was 19 to 23 I lived there, and I actually also worked there as the administrative assistant," a smiley Rebel states in the video.
She goes on to credit ATYP for being her 'launchpad into the entertainment industry' before making what she calls a 'pretty exciting announcement'.
"I'm very happy to announce that I'm giving a huge gift. I am donating a million dollars towards the building costs of ATYP's new home down at the wharf in Sydney," Rebel revealed.
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The hefty sum will also go towards a brand new purpose-built 200-seat theatre, which Rebel joked might be named in her honour.
"I'm proud to do it, I'm proud to give back to a company that really was such an essential part of my journey," she concluded.
The generous donation is a nice full-circle moment for Rebel, who in 2003 won the ATYP International scholarship, which was funded by another Aussie star, Nicole Kidman.
Thanks to the scholarship, Rebel was able to move to New York City where she trained at The Second City, a famous improv troupe that counts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as graduates.
Birthday Rebel
Rebel recently celebrated her 41st birthday with an extravagant party with her closest friends on a private French Polynesian island dubbed 'Rebel Island'.
The star and her pals — including Pitch Perfect co-stars including Brittany Snow and Anna Kendrick — enjoyed themed movie nights and even a tennis tournament, aptly named 'Rebeldon' during their stay.
There was also a lot of beach time, where Rebel posed in a red one-piece swimsuit to show off her 30kg weight loss transformation.
She recently spoke of her 'Year of Health' with Jamila Rizvi on The Weekend Briefing on LiSTNR, when she apologised if she'd 'annoyed some people' by posting so many selfies of her slimmed-down figure.
"I feel really good within myself and I like to celebrate the journey," she began.
"And also, why I did it publicly was for accountability as well, because it’s all good and well just having a little experiment and if you don’t tell people about it you could just easily fail, whereas if I tell the whole world on social media, then that's pretty good motivation," she added.
The Aussie actress, who just wrapped up filming on her upcoming Netflix film Senior Year, also added that her weight loss didn’t have an effect on her confidence as she’s always had great self-esteem.
“I think people are beautiful in all different sizes, and I would feel just as confident rocking my size 16 dress as I do now. I’m about a size 8 now,” she explained.
“I loved being bigger and it never stopped me from achieving anything in my life.”
Additional reporting by Marni Dixit.
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