Rutina Wesley
Encyclopedia
Rutina Wesley is an American
film
, stage
, and television
actress best known for her role as Tara Thornton
on the HBO series True Blood
.
. Wesley's 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 several other auditions for college training programs and was finally accepted by the University of Evansville
in Indiana
. She was hesitant in joining the university because of a lack of minorities in the state. After earning her undergraduate degree in Theatre Performance, her grandmother suggested that she do a nursing
course, but Wesley insisted on pursuing her education. She joined the Juilliard School
in 2001 and graduated in May 2005, which included a summer spent at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
. At Juilliard, she and her later co-star Nelsan Ellis
became close friends.
's Broadway
play The Vertical Hour
. In 2007, Wesley also appeared in The Public Theatre production of In Darfur by playwright Winter Miller
, co-starring Heather Raffo
, Aaron Lohr
among others.
Wesley had a minor role in 2005 film Hitch
, which was edited
in the final cut. However, she made her on screen debut in the lead role in 2007 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 June 2011, it was reported that Wesley will star in the biopic Left To Tell based on Immaculée Ilibagiza
's bestselling memoir about the Rwandan Genocide
.
and Astoria, Queens
. She is married to Jacob Fishel, an actor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actress best known for her role as Tara Thornton
Tara Thornton
Tara Mae Thornton is a fictional character in Charlaine Harris's The Southern Vampire Mysteries and their television adaptation, HBO's True Blood.-Biography:...
on the HBO series True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
.
Early life
Wesley was born and raised in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Wesley's father, Ivery Wheeler, is a professional tap dancer and her mother, Cassandra Wesley, was a showgirl
Showgirl
A showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
. She attended high school at the Las Vegas Academy
Las Vegas Academy
The Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts is a magnet high school located in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Students are accepted through an audition process and claim a "major" pertaining to performing arts, visual arts, or foreign languages.- Las Vegas High School...
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 several other auditions for college training programs and was finally accepted by the University of Evansville
University of Evansville
The University of Evansville is a small, private university with approximately 3,050 students located in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College, it is located near the interchange of the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. Route 41. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. She was hesitant in joining the university because of a lack of minorities in the state. After earning her undergraduate degree in Theatre Performance, her grandmother suggested that she do a nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
course, but Wesley insisted on pursuing her education. She joined the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in 2001 and graduated in May 2005, which included a summer spent at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...
. At Juilliard, she and her later co-star Nelsan Ellis
Nelsan Ellis
Nelsan Ellis is an award-winning American film and television actor and playwright. He is well known for his role as Lafayette Reynolds in the HBO series True Blood, which he has been playing since 2008.-Early and personal life:...
became close friends.
Career
In December 2006, Wesley was featured in David HareDavid Hare (playwright)
Sir David Hare is an English playwright and theatre and film director.-Early life:Hare was born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex, the son of Agnes and Clifford Hare, a sailor. He was educated at Lancing, an independent school in West Sussex, and at Jesus College, Cambridge...
's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play The Vertical Hour
The Vertical Hour
The Vertical Hour is a play by David Hare. The play addresses the relationship of characters with opposing views on the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and also explores psychological tension between public lives and private lives. The play received its world premiere at the Music Box Theater on Broadway,...
. In 2007, Wesley also appeared in The Public Theatre production of In Darfur by playwright Winter Miller
Winter Miller
Winter Miller is an American playwright and journalist. In the summer of 2007, a reading of Miller's play In Darfur was at the Delacorte Theater in New York City....
, co-starring Heather Raffo
Heather Raffo
Heather Raffo is an Lucille Lortel Award-winning Iraqi American playwright and actress, best known for her leading role in the one-woman play 9 Parts of Desire.-Early life:...
, Aaron Lohr
Aaron Lohr
Aaron Lohr is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Dean Portman, one of the "Bash Brothers" in The Mighty Ducks movies...
among others.
Wesley had a minor role in 2005 film Hitch
Hitch (film)
Hitch is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant and starring Will Smith. The film, which was written by Kevin Bisch, co-stars Eva Mendes, Kevin James, and Amber Valletta. Smith plays a professional matchmaker who makes a living teaching men how to woo women...
, which was edited
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
in the final cut. However, she made her on screen debut in the lead role in 2007 film How She Move
How She Move
How She Move is a 2007 drama film directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid and starring Rutina Wesley, Clé Bennett and Romina D'Ugo. The film showcases the street culture of step dancing...
, from British director Ian Iqbal Rashid
Ian Iqbal Rashid
Born in 1971 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Ian Iqbal Rashid is a poet, screenwriter and filmmaker.In his early childhood, his family were forced to leave Tanzania. After failing to secure asylum in the UK and US, they settled in Canada...
. 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
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
in Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
. 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
Tara Thornton
Tara Mae Thornton is a fictional character in Charlaine Harris's The Southern Vampire Mysteries and their television adaptation, HBO's True Blood.-Biography:...
in the HBO series True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
in 2007 and secured the part after creator Alan Ball
Alan Ball (screenwriter)
Alan E. Ball is an American writer, director, actor and producer for film, theatre and television.-Early life:Ball was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Frank and Mary Ball, an aircraft inspector and a homemaker...
chose her because "[she] was the first person who showed [Tara's] vulnerable side".
In June 2011, it was reported that Wesley will star in the biopic Left To Tell based on Immaculée Ilibagiza
Immaculée Ilibagiza
Immaculée Ilibagiza is a Rwandan author and motivational speaker. She is also a Roman Catholic and Tutsi. Her first book, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust , is an autobiographical work detailing how she survived during the Rwandan Genocide and how she felt when all of her...
's bestselling memoir about the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
.
Personal life
Wesley divides her time between Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Astoria, Queens
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
. She is married to Jacob Fishel, an actor.
Awards/Nominations
- Screen Actors Guild AwardsScreen Actors Guild AwardsA Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
- 2010, Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series (True BloodTrue BloodTrue Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
)-nominated
- 2010, Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series (True Blood
- Scream AwardsScream AwardsThe Scream Awards is an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films. Originally only having Scream Queen and Heroic Performance awards for actors, the personnel awards have expanded to include actors and actresses of all three recognized genres. In addition,...
- 2009, Best Supporting Actress (True BloodTrue BloodTrue Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
)-nominated
- 2009, Best Supporting Actress (True Blood
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | How She Move How She Move How She Move is a 2007 drama film directed by Ian Iqbal Rashid and starring Rutina Wesley, Clé Bennett and Romina D'Ugo. The film showcases the street culture of step dancing... |
Raya Green | Film debut |
| 2008 | Numb3rs NUMB3RS Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes... |
Sarah | Episode: "Magic Show" |
| 2008–present | True Blood True Blood True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana... |
Tara Thornton Tara Thornton Tara Mae Thornton is a fictional character in Charlaine Harris's The Southern Vampire Mysteries and their television adaptation, HBO's True Blood.-Biography:... |
48 episodes, Regular |
| 2009 | The Cleveland Show The Cleveland Show The Cleveland Show is an American animated television series that premiered on September 27, 2009, as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox in the United States... |
Yvette | 1 episode |
External links
- Rutina Wesley at MSN Movies