Rutina Wesley

Early life and education

Wesley was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her father, Ivery Wheeler, is a professional tap dancer, and her mother, Cassandra Wesley, was a showgirl. She attended high school at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts. She studied dance at Simba Studios and the West Las Vegas Arts Center.

While at the Las Vegas Academy, Wesley missed some auditions for college training programs. She finally decided to attend the University of Evansville in Indiana.

After Wesley earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance in 2001, her grandmother suggested that she do a nursing course to have a practical fallback job, but Wesley insisted on pursuing her artistic education. She enrolled at the Juilliard School in 2001 and graduated in May 2005 (Group 34). Her studies included a summer spent at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Career

In December 2006, Wesley was featured in David Hare's Broadway play The Vertical Hour. In 2007, Wesley also appeared in The Public Theater production of In Darfur by playwright Winter Miller, co-starring Heather Raffo and Aaron Lohr, among others.

Wesley had a minor role in the 2005 film Hitch, which was edited out in the final cut. In 2007, she made her on-screen debut as the main character in the film How She Move, from British director Ian Iqbal Rashid. The character Raya Green, who enters a step-dancing competition to secure funds for her education, was inspired by Tony Manero, portrayed by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Prior to the shooting of the film, Wesley underwent a five-week dance rehearsal period. Portraying a woman of Jamaican descent, she also took dialect coaching for the role.

Wesley auditioned for the role Tara Thornton in the HBO series True Blood in 2007 and secured the part after creator Alan Ball chose her because "[she] was the first person who showed [Tara's] vulnerable side".

In January 2015, it was announced that Wesley had been cast in a recurring role on the NBC drama series Hannibal. She portrayed Reba McClane, "a blind woman who enters into a relationship with Francis Dolarhyde (Richard Armitage), and helps soothe his murderous urges—at least at first." Wesley appeared as Liza Warner in the fourth season of Arrow.

In 2016, Wesley was cast as the lead character Nova Bordelon in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar, produced by Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey.

In 2023, Wesley portrayed Maria Miller in the HBO series The Last of Us.

Personal life

Wesley divides her time between Astoria, Queens, and Los Angeles, California. In 2005, she married her former Juilliard classmate Jacob Fishel, an actor. After separating in July, Wesley filed for divorce on August 16, 2013, citing irreconcilable differences.

In November 2017, Wesley announced her partnership to Shonda, a chef from New Orleans. They later broke up in 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (February 2, 2014). "Correction To Rutina Wesley's Birthday Post".
2. "Community of Scholars - Rutina Wesley".
3. Hollywood.com Staff. (2015-02-06). "Rutina Wesley {{!}} Biography and Filmography {{!}} 1979". Hollywood.com.
4. (January 17, 2007). "Spotlight: Training to Act". Nielsen Business Media Inc..
5. "Rutina Wesley". Biography.com.
6. (May 2010). "Q&A With Rutina Wesley". [[The Juilliard School]].
7. (March 2008). "How She Make a Movie: Rutina Wesley on Auditions, Epsom Salts, and Belief in Self". [[The Juilliard School]].
8. (September 30, 2011). "Five Minutes with Rutina Wesley". W Magazine.
9. Rochlin, Margy. (October 30, 2008). "Flesh and Blood in a Town of Vampires". [[The New York Times]].
10. Pincus-Roth, Zachary. (April 11, 2007). "Public's in Darfur to Star Raffo, Lohr, Washington, Wesley, Jah". Playbill.
11. Cling, Carol. (January 29, 2008). "Las Vegas Academy grad a shooting star". Las Vegas Review Journal.
12. Marchand, Philip. (January 24, 2008). "'How She Move' shows dance as escape". Toronto Star Inc..
13. "Rutina Wesley: The How She Move Interview with Kam Williams".
14. (January 23, 2015). "'Hannibal' Casts Rutina Wesley as 'Red Dragon's' Reba McClane".
15. (August 10, 2015). "'True Blood' Alum Rutina Wesley in Talks to Join 'Arrow' for Multi-Episode Arc (Exclusive)".
16. "'Arrow' scoop: Get details on Rutina Wesley's role - EW.com".
17. Nellie Andreeva. (January 13, 2016). "Rutina Wesley To Star In OWN Drama Series 'Queen Sugar' - Deadline".
18. "Rutina Wesley wanted to play Maria in 'The Last of Us' her way".
19. (August 20, 2013). "Rutina Wesley Divorcing Jacob Fishel". [[People (magazine).
20. (20 November 2017). "True Blood's Rutina Wesley Comes Out in Heartfelt Instagram Engagement Post".