Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
Rita Wilson opened up about the person in her life who inspired her to pursue a music career, following success in acting.
The actress and musician, who just released her sixth studio album, Sound of a Woman, revealed that her late friend, renowned writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron, encouraged her second act after turning 50.
"She said, 'I'm here to tell you that great things happen after the age of 50,'" Wilson, 69, told PEOPLE in an interview published on Tuesday (May 5).
Wilson noted how Ephron, who directed Wilson in the beloved 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, didn't direct her first film until she was 51. "It was so inspiring to me," she admitted. "I never forgot that when I started getting into music, because I was in my 50s. If Nora did it, I could do it. She's my hero."
Ultimately, Wilson would go on to star in Chicago on Broadway in 2006, where she eventually met songwriter Kara DioGuardi.
"She said, 'Okay, I'll write your first songs with you,' which she did," the "Throw Me a Party" singer recalled. "And that opened up the world of songwriting. I just kept writing because I knew that if I kept doing it, I wouldn't get worse at it."
Since releasing her debut album AM/FM in 2012, the "Now and Then" star has gone on to play the Grand Ole Opry and release a star-studded duets album, featuring music legends such as Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw and Smokey Robinson.