Wilson has stated that, according to her grandmother, her great-aunt was Lillian Disney, who was married to Walt Disney until his death in 1966.
Wilson stood by this belief in court, despite there being no evidence to support the claim; it continues to be disputed by genealogist Dale Sheridan.
Wilson's first career choice was mathematics.
She told The Sydney Morning Herald, "I was very academic at high school and was always good with numbers."
1980
Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson (born Melanie Elizabeth Bownds; 2 March 1980) is an Australian actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer.
Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson was born on 2 March 1980 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Her parents are professional dog handlers, dog show judges and breeders.
Wilson grew up in the suburbs of Kenthurst, Parramatta and Castle Hill.
She attended the independent Tara Anglican School for Girls as a boarder.
1997
She completed her Higher School Certificate in 1997, achieving a ranking of 99.3, including second place in the state in Food Technology.
Wilson joined the debating team and a teacher encouraged her to enter Tournament of Minds which she credits for helping her come out of her shell.
Wilson worked at a cinema in Castle Hill in her younger years, but quit after patrons recognised her after the showing of her first movie, Fat Pizza.
Wilson has three siblings: sisters Liberty and Annaleise (who uses the name "Annarchi") and a brother, who uses the name "Ryot".
2002
She first came to the public's attention in 2002 with her stage musical The Westie Monologues, which she wrote, starred in and produced in Sydney.
Her follow-up stage productions, which she wrote, produced and starred in include Spunks and Confessions of an Exchange Student.
In Australia, Wilson is most known for her roles as Toula on the SBS comedy series Pizza and as various characters including Lucy, Fat Mandi and Karla Bangs on the sketch comedy series The Wedge.
2003
After graduating from the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2003, Wilson began appearing as Toula in the SBS comedy series Pizza (2003–2007) and later appeared in the sketch comedy show The Wedge (2006–2007).
In 2003, she moved to New York after winning the ATYP International scholarship, which was funded by Nicole Kidman.
While in New York, Wilson trained with The Second City.
She appeared with the Sydney Theatre Company and performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
She also had roles in the feature films Fat Pizza (2003) and Ghost Rider (2007).
2004
She played an Australian Idol mad schoolgirl in a series of Telstra advertisements shown during Australian Idol from 2004 to 2005.
2008
She wrote, produced and starred in the musical comedy series Bogan Pride (2008).
In 2008, Wilson created, wrote, produced and starred in the musical comedy series Bogan Pride on SBS One and also starred in the improvisational Nine Network series Monster House.
2009
She attended the University of New South Wales, graduating in 2009 with Bachelor of Arts (Theatre and Performance Studies) and Bachelor of Laws degrees.
She planned to be a lawyer, but decided against corporate life and went to the United States to act.
A former Rotary International youth ambassador for Australia, she was based in South Africa for one year, where she contracted malaria.
She has spoken of malaria-induced hallucinations, where she saw herself as an actress who had won an Oscar, convincing her to pursue an acting career.
Wilson studied at the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP).
In 2009 Wilson won the Tropfest Best Actress award for her role in the film Bargain.
She has made appearances on the improvisational comedy show Thank God You're Here and the comedy game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation.
2011
Shortly after moving to the United States, Wilson appeared in the comedy films Bridesmaids and A Few Best Men, both in 2011.
Liberty and Ryot appeared on the first season of The Amazing Race Australia in 2011, where they were the first team eliminated.
2012
In 2012, Wilson appeared in the comedy films What to Expect When You're Expecting, Struck by Lightning, and Bachelorette, which led to Variety naming her one of their "Top Ten Comics to Watch for 2013".
She played the role of Fat Amy in the musical comedy Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017), which earned her several award nominations and wins, including the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and a Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress.
2013
Wilson wrote and starred in Super Fun Night (2013), a television sitcom that aired for one season on ABC.
2016
In 2016, she appeared in the films How to Be Single and Grimsby.
2019
In 2019, she starred in her first lead role as Natalie in Isn't It Romantic, and appeared as Penny Rust in The Hustle and Jennyanydots in Cats.
For playing Fraulein Rahm in the drama film Jojo Rabbit (2019), Wilson was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
In 2022, she starred in the Netflix comedy film Senior Year, also serving as a producer.
