Rutina Wesley biography

Synopsis

Rutina Wesley was born on February 1, 1979, in Las Vegas, Nevada. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Evansville, she attended The Juilliard School, graduating in 2005. That same year, she landed a part on Broadway in The Vertical Hour, starring Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy. Wesley's big break came in 2007, when she won the part of Tara Thornton on the HBO series True Blood. In 2008, she made her film debut in How She Move. Wesley is married to actor Jacob Fishel.

Profile

Actress. Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, to professional dancer Ivery Wheeler and showgirl Cassandra Wesley, Rutina became interested in performance at an early age. But it wasn't until she appeared in a production of Fame during her freshman year of high school at the Las Vegas Academy that she decided she wanted to pursue a career in acting.

Wesley landed a scholarship to the University of Evansville in Illinois, where she obtained her B.F.A. in Theatre Performance in 2001. She then auditioned to the Juilliard School's Drama Division, where she was accepted in 2001. While there, she performed in classical theatre productions such as Macbeth and The Marriage of Figaro. After honing her chops there, Wesley spent a summer studying Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she landed the title role in a production of Romeo and Juliet.

In 2005, shortly after graduating from the Juilliard School in New York City, Wesley landed on Broadway in a Sam Mendes production of the The Vertical Hour, starring Julianne Moore and Bill Nighy.

In 2008, Wesley made her film debut as the lead in How She Move, which received critical acclaim. She made her big break, however, in 2007 as Tara Thornton in the HBO series True Blood, her debut television performance. The show is now in its third season, and has earned Wesley a Screen Actors Guild award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series.

Wesley is married to actor Jacob Fishel and currently splits time between Los Angeles, California, and New York City.