Peta Wilson
Peta Wilson stars as Nikita, a young, beautiful, courageous woman given a difficult choice -- join a secret, ruthless government agency...or be executed -- in LA FEMME NIKITA, the new original series on USA Network. Falsely accused of a crime she did not commit, Nikita does whatever is necessary to survive. While she works for this covert organization, she desperately tries to create a life of her own on the outside. Whenever she gets close...the phone rings and pulls her back into a world of anti-terrorism and underground spies.
Wilson is becoming a household name, with recent feature stories in such publications as People, US, In Style, Details and TV Guide, as well as appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Rosie O'Donnell Show. In addition, there are at least a dozen websites dedicated to Wilson and the series. Her personal interests include classic car shows (she recently bought her first one - a 1956 Thunderbird convertible), the theater and all kinds of music, especially blues and country. She is often spotted "walking about" her favorite city, New York, which she visits frequently to stay current with the theater scene.
A native of Australia, Wilson spent her early years traveling with her family as an "Army brat" and much of her early childhood in New Guinea. She is an accomplished sailor, having garnered, with her dad and brother, the title of Australian Interservice Champion Trailer Sailors.
Two experiences in Wilson's childhood placed her on the road to a career in performing, the first being the lack of television in New Guinea when she was growing up. She and her brother would put on shows for family and friends as a way of entertaining themselves. The second was a result of her family's never-ending moves and of changing schools constantly. She learned to quickly size up various social situations and act in whatever manner would help her fit in.
Her strong family ties continue to be the priority in Wilson's life: her grandmother stays with her in Toronto when Nikita is in production and, throughout the year, she always has one of her relatives visiting, whether her mom, uncle, cousin or brother (who appeared in an episode of the show during the first season).
Wilson moved to the U.S. in 1991 to concentrate on becoming an actress and studied with such coaches as Arthur Mendoza from the Actors Circle Theater in Los Angeles, Tom Waits at TomCats Repertory Group and Sylvana Gulado. Her first role was for the Actors Circle Theater in a production entitled Fool For Love.
Film credits include Reasonable Force, Sadness of Sex and Woman Undone. Her acting career was officially launched in cable television's Strangers anthology, directed by Damian Harris. She also appeared in the Fox movie of the week Vanishing Point.
Wilson still enjoys an active and athletic lifestyle. In addition to the vigorous one-on-one training she maintains for her role, she enjoys scuba diving, swimming, water skiing, yoga and aerobic funk classes. An avid reader and collector of photo journalism books, Wilson also likes to putter around her garden in the Hollywood Hills, where she lives when LA FEMME NIKITA is not in production.