Pitch Perfect star Rebel Wilson has responded to rumours that she has been misrepresenting her age by joking that she is actually 100. Rebel posted to Twitter: "OMG I'm actually a 100 year old mermaid formerly known as 'CC Chalice'....thanks shady Australian press for your tall poppy syndrome x".
Rebel Wilson in 2015
The tweet came after an Australian women's magazine claimed they had spoken to former classmates of Rebel's who revealed that she was actually 36 and not 29 as was being reported elsewhere.
Speaking to Women's Day magazine, the old classmate says Rebel had a "very normal, upper-middle-class upbringing" and has added a touch of "fantasy" to the life she led before becoming a household name.
Rebel has previously said to have been raised by working-class parents who trained dogs, before later spending a year in Zimbabwe.
Rebel Wilson as fat Amy in Pitch Perfect
She has also said that in Mozambique she caught a severe strain of Malaria and during a hallucination she envisioned herself winning an Oscar and rapping her acceptance speech.
Business records filed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission seem to support the claims made by the former classmates, listing the date of birth for a "Rebel Melanie Elizabeth Wilson" as 2 March 2, 1980. It was previously reported that the actress had changed her last name from Bounds to Wilson.
Rebel Wilson as a Victoria's Secret angel
The star of Pitch Perfect and its sequel, which is currently top of the UK box office, has been a vocal proponent of sending young girls positive message.
After dressing up as a Victoria's Secret angel at the 2015 MTV Movie Awards, Rebel told People magazine: "I think one of the good messages in the movie [Pitch Perfect 2] is that you’re all beautiful," she said.
"I like to encourage girls to think, which is why I put that on my butt. It’s really about what’s up here [points to head], and not what's here [points to derriere]."