Ruth Negga

Ruth Negga (/ˈneɪɡə/; born 7 January 1982) is an Ethiopian-Irish actress, who has appeared in the films Capital Letters (2004) (also released as Trafficked in some countries), Isolation (2005), Breakfast on Pluto (2005), Warcraft (2016) and Loving (2016). She has also played roles in television, such as in the BBC's mini-series Criminal Justice, RTÉ's Love/Hate, E4's Misfits, and ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. In 2016, she began a starring role as Tulip O'Hare in AMC's Preacher.
For her portrayal of Mildred Loving in Loving, Negga was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama, Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, and a BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Negga was born in 1982 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to an Irish mother, Norra, and an Ethiopian father, Dr. Negga. Her parents met while her mother was working as a nurse in Ethiopia. Negga lived in the country until she was four. She is an only child, but has a large family on her mother's side. Her father died in a car accident when she was seven. Raised in Limerick, Ireland, she has lived in London since 2006.

Negga studied at the Samuel Beckett Centre at Trinity College, Dublin, graduating with a BA in Acting Studies.

Negga made her screen debut in the Irish film Capital Letters (2004), playing the lead role of Taiwo. She went on to play the lead role of Mary in Isolation the following year. Prior to this she had been working mostly in theatre.

After seeing Negga act, director Neil Jordan changed the script to Breakfast on Pluto so that she could appear in the movie. She has also starred in Colour Me Kubrick (2005), with John Malkovich, and the short films The Four Horsemen, 3-Minute 4-Play and Stars.

On television Negga has appeared in Doctors, Criminal Justice and the Irish series Love Is the Drug. She also played the lead role of Doris "Sid" Siddiqi in the BBC Three series Personal Affairs, alongside Laura Aikman, Annabel Scholey and Maimie McCoy. Negga portrayed Rosie in the first two series of Love/Hate. Negga also appeared as Dame Shirley Bassey in the BBC production Shirley in 2011, and won the IFTA Award for Best Actress (Television) for her performance.

Negga's theatre work includes roles in Duck, Titus Andronicus and Lay Me Down Softly. As of 2007 she began working with the Irish theatrical group Pan Pan Theatre. In 2010, she played Ophelia in the National Theatre's production of Hamlet.

Negga (centre) with Loving director Jeff Nichols (left) and co-star Joel Edgerton at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival

Negga has also provided voice acting in the video game Dark Souls II, playing Shanalotte, otherwise known as "the Emerald Herald". Shanalotte is a key character in the game, providing guidance to the player as well as permitting the player to develop their character in exchange for collected souls.

In 2013, it was announced that Negga had been booked for a recurring role as Raina on the American TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. She appeared in 17 episodes of the programme. In 2013, she appeared in Steve McQueen's Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave. In March 2015, Negga was cast in the role of Tulip O'Hare in AMC fantasy drama series Preacher, which debuted the following year.

In 2016, Negga starred in Loving, which premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film is based on the true story of the Lovings, a married interracial couple in 1950s and 1960s Virginia, whose relationship lead to the Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia. Negga received rave reviews for the role.

In January 2017, Negga was nominated for Best Actress at the 89th Academy Awards.

Negga has been dating and living with actor Dominic Cooper in London since 2010.

Negga was nominated as 2003's Most Promising Newcomer at the Olivier Awards. She was chosen as Ireland's Shooting Star for the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. She has received many accolades for her role of Mildred Loving in the 2016 film Loving, including an Academy Award, Critic's Choice, and Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress.

• Duck: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh (2003)
• Phèdre: National Theatre London (2009)
• Hamlet: National Theatre London (2010/11)
• Playboy of the Western World: Old Vic Theatre London (2011)

Film

Television

Video games