Irish actress Ruth Negga will pick up a prestigious Rising Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January for her role in the upcoming Oscar-tipped movie, Loving.
The honour is the latest signal that the former Love/Hate actress could feature in next year's Oscar nominations. She was been widely tipped for a nomination since the premiere of Loving at Cannes in May and its nomination for the Palme d’Or.
Loving tells the true story of an illegal inter-racial marriage in the US state of Virginia in the 1950s.
Richard Loving (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred Jeter (Negga) eloped to Washington DC in 1958 but on their return home to Virginia they were arrested and were sentenced to a year in prison. Their case eventually reached the US Supreme Court, which overturned their conviction.
Confirming her Award, the festival chairman of the festival Harold Matzner said that “Ruth Negga’s performance as Mildred Loving is one of the year’s most luminous and striking portrayals....This will certainly be just one of many breath-taking performances in a long career.”
Negga recently said she drew on her deep connection to Ireland to identify with her character in her Loving.
The star, who was born in Ethiopia and raised in Limerick, told Vogue in a recent interview that "Virginia isn't that different from Ireland".
"Land and home and community are super important. When I was playing her, I tried to imagine I couldn't go home again because of whom I married. It must have drained the lifeblood from her."
She was also recently among the nominees for the Gotham film awards in the US for her role in the movie - the winners will be announced at the end of this month.
Loving is already on release in the US, giving it a key slot during awards season, while its Irish release is set to follow on February 3, 2017.
