The 69-year-old actress discovered that Allan Wilson - born Hassan Halilov Ibrahimoff - had a wife named Alice and a child called Emil in his native Bulgaria before he emigrated to the United States, during an appearance on the genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? in 2012.
Sleepless in Seattle star Rita - who grew up in Los Angeles with Allan, his wife Dorothy and her siblings, Lily and Chris - recalled the family secret on the latest episode of the How to Fail With Elizabeth Day podcast, News.Az reports, citing Bang Premier.
Rita said: "What they found with my dad was that his story was so shocking and unusual that they stuck with his story.
She was informed that Allan "was married and he had a child" and asked Who Do You Think You Are?'s producers: "Am I going to meet someone? Am I going to meet a family?"Sadly, Rita did not meet anyone as Alice died in childbirth, and Emil passed away from an infection four months after he was born on December 26.
And Allan moved to the United States in 1949 following the double tragedy, "which took place right after the war".
Oscar-winner Rita said: "I still can't get over that. [He] never said anything to us. I wish I could have talked to him about that."
In a "weird" and heartbreaking twist, the Mamma Mia! cast member added: "My sister's firstborn child was born on December 26, and my youngest son was born on December 26."And I think of my dad, all of those years, celebrating all those birthdays, and knowing that he had a child born on Dec. 26, Emil, who passed away."
Rita - who has been married to Toy Story legend Tom Hanks, 69, since 1998 and has Chet, 35, and Truman, 30, with him, and is stepmom to the actor's older children, Colin, 49, and Elizabeth, 44, whom he has from a previous marriage - said her Greek Orthodox family "kept things so private" .
But she thinks: "If we were all more open with each other, then we all can see that we're all in the same boat.”
Allan went on to marry Dorothy in 1950 before they welcomed Rita, Lily and Chris into the world.
And Rita lauded her dad - who died in March 2009 - and mom for being "incredible" parents.
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