Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson receive Greek citizenship

The couple own a home on the island of Antiparos. (AFP)

DUBAI: US actor Tom Hanks and his actress-singer wife Rita Wilson are now officially Greek citizens. 

The country’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the news Sunday on Instagram sharing a picture with the couple proudly holding their new passports.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@ritawilson @tomhanks are now proud Greek citizens!

A post shared by Kyriakos Mitsotakis (@kyriakos_) on Jul 25, 2020 at 11:02pm PDT

The mother of Wilson, the 63-year-old songwriter and producer, was Greek and her father was Bulgarian but born in Oraio, Greece. 

The couple also own a home on the island of Antiparos.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello folks. @ritawilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us. We have Covid-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else. There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one-day-at-a-time. There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no? Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball. Hanx

A post shared by Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) on Mar 12, 2020 at 7:08pm PDT

In January, Hanks, 64, tweeted he and his family became honorary Greek citizens. “Starting 2020 as an Honorary citizen of all of Greece! Kronia pola! (more or less, “happy year!”),” he wrote to 16.7 million followers. 

The decision was made after officials highlighted the filmmaker’s role in helping raise awareness about the 2018 fires that devastated areas near Athens and killed over 100 people.

In a statement sent to CNN in December, the Greek Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos said:  “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.”