Ruth Negga

Ruth Negga (born 1982)^[1] is an Ethiopian-born Irish actress raised in Dublin who has starred in Irish films such as Capital Letters (2004) (also released as Trafficked in some countries), Isolation (2005) and Breakfast On Pluto (2005). She has also appeared in the BBC mini-series Criminal Justice, RTÉ's Love/Hate and E4's Misfits.

Early life and education

Negga was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1982, where she lived until she was four, to an Irish mother and an Ethiopian father. She is an only child. She has a large family on her mother's side. Her father died in a car accident when she was seven.^[2] Since 2006 she has lived in London.^[3]

Negga trained at the Samuel Beckett Centre at Trinity College, Dublin,^[4] graduating with a BA in Acting Studies.^[2]

Career

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 (2005). Prior to this she had been working mostly in theatre.^[4]

After seeing Negga act, director Neil Jordan changed the script to Breakfast On Pluto so that she could appear in the movie.^[2] 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.^[5] 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.^[6] As of 2007 she began working with the Irish theatrical group Pan Pan Theatre.^[7] In 2010, she played Ophelia in the National Theatre's production of Hamlet.

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..^[8][9] In 2013, she appeared in a film directed by Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave.^[10]

Theatre

• Phedre - National Theatre London (2009)
• Hamlet - National Theatre London (2010/11)
• Playboy of the Western World - Old Vic Theatre London (2011)

Awards

Negga was nominated as 2003’s Most Promising Newcomer at the Olivier Awards.^[3] She was chosen as Ireland's Shooting Star for the 2006 Berlin Film Festival.^[4]

Filmography

References

External links

• Ruth Negga at the Internet Movie Database