Ruth Negga is an Ethiopian-Irish actress who started her career in Irish productions like Breakfast on Pluto and Love/Hate has just been nominated for an academy award!
Today it was announced that Golden Globe nominee Ruth has officially been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in Jeff Nichols' Loving.
To celebrate the actresses' success we decided to tally up five reasons why we love this homegrown star.
1. Diversity
In an interview with The Guardian Ruth spoke about her role in Loving, a movie that is rumoured to be major Oscar material. When asked about the diversity of roles available to her, the actress said:
“Diversity needs to operate on every level. It’s great that the Oscars have highlighted it, but black actors getting nominated shouldn’t be the only result. There’s so much more that needs to be done.”
2. Feminism
Ruth had an in-depth conversation with Comic Book Resources about the roles women are offered within the film industry.
I want the portrayal of women on screen and television to allow me to feel like it's okay to be the anti-hero. It's not determined by sex, or it shouldn't be, but we've been sort of trained to think that, that this is road for women, and this is the road for men. I think that's boring, and I think it's just wrong. It needs to kind of [waves hand as if brushing the concept away]. I mean, it is happening, very much so on TV, especially.
3. Cool, Calm and Collected
When the Hollywood Reporter asked her why it had taken Hollywood so long to discover her, Ruth simply said:
"I have not been aggressive in my pursuit of being a star. I've never had a plan. Maybe I need to be more aggressive because it's quite tough!"
4. She's a fighter
Move over Conor McGregor, Ruth is a fighter! In a piece for Interview the actress said that nothing has come easy in her career and she's earned every role that came her way.
Ninety percent of my roles, I've had to fight for. It's only a really small percentage of people who get handed roles. But that can be quite scary. The good thing about auditioning is that you get to test yourself and see if you can play this character—you're also auditioning yourself. I enjoy seeing what the chemistry is between the people you might be working with. It's not all bad having to audition, there can be benefits.
5. She's on the cover of Vogue!!
Our very own Ruth Negga has landed the cover of Vogue. We couldn't be prouder. To say she is a success in an understatement and if her Oscar nomination is anything to go by, this lady is set to be a star.
