Ruth Negga


Ruth Negga is an Ethiopian-Irish actress known for the AMC television series Preacher and the film Loving.
Negga has also appeared in the films Capital Letters , Isolation, Breakfast on Pluto, and Warcraft. Other television projects include the BBC mini-series Criminal Justice, RTÉ's Love/Hate, E4's Misfits, and ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Negga began a starring role as Tulip O'Hare in Preacher in 2016.
For her portrayal of Mildred Loving in Loving, Negga was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress and won an Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actress, and she was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award. In 2020, she was ranked number 10 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Early life and education

Negga was born in 1982 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to an Irish mother, Nora, and an Ethiopian father, Dr Negga. Her parents met while her mother was working as a nurse in Ethiopia. Negga, an only child, lived in the country until she was four. Her father died in a car accident when she was seven. Brought up in Limerick, Ireland, she has resided in London since 2006.
Negga studied at the Samuel Beckett Centre at Trinity College, Dublin, graduating with a BA in Acting Studies.

Career

Negga made her screen debut in the Irish film Capital Letters, playing the lead role of Taiwo. She went on to play the lead role of Mary in Isolation the following year. Prior to this, she had been working mostly in theatre. After seeing Negga act, director Neil Jordan changed the script to Breakfast on Pluto so that she could appear in the movie. She has also starred in Colour Me Kubrick, with John Malkovich, and the short films The Four Horsemen, 3-Minute 4-Play and Stars.
On television Negga has appeared in Doctors, Criminal Justice and the Irish series Love Is the Drug. She played the lead role of Doris "Sid" Siddiqi in the BBC Three series Personal Affairs, alongside Laura Aikman, Annabel Scholey and Maimie McCoy. Negga portrayed Rosie in the first two series of Love/Hate.
Negga appeared as Dame Shirley Bassey in the BBC production Shirley in 2011 and won the IFTA Award for Best Actress for her performance. Her theatre work includes roles in Duck, Titus Andronicus and Lay Me Down Softly. As of 2007, she began working with the Irish theatrical group Pan Pan Theatre. In 2010, she played Ophelia in the National Theatre's production of Hamlet. She also provided voice acting in the video game Dark Souls II, playing Shanalotte, otherwise known as "the Emerald Herald".
In 2013, it was announced that Negga had been booked for a recurring role as Raina on the American TV series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. She appeared in 17 episodes of the programme. She filmed scenes for Steve McQueen's Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave, but her role was ultimately cut from the movie. In March 2015, Negga was cast in the role of Tulip O'Hare in AMC fantasy drama series Preacher, which debuted the following year.
In 2016, Negga starred in Loving, which premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and later screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film is based on the true story of the Lovings, a married interracial couple in the 1950s and 1960s Virginia, whose relationship led to the Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia. Negga received rave reviews for the role, and garnered multiple award nominations, including for the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

Personal life

Negga was in a relationship with actor Dominic Cooper beginning in 2010. They first met in 2009 while working together in a stage adaptation of Phèdre with Helen Mirren. The two lived together in London's Primrose Hill. The couple dated for six years; however, Negga has pointed out that it took the press years to learn of the break-up, which was first reported in April 2018. Negga starred opposite Cooper in AMC's Preacher, in which the pair portrayed lovers, and has said that they are "best friends".

Theatre

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

Negga was nominated as 2003's Most Promising Newcomer at the Olivier Awards. She was chosen as Ireland's Shooting Star for the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. She has received many accolades for her role of Mildred Loving in the 2016 film Loving, including Academy Award, Critic's Choice, and Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress.
YearAssociationCategoryWorkResult
2005Irish Film & Television AcademyBest Actress in a Supporting Role – FilmBreakfast on Pluto
2005Irish Film & Television AcademyBest Actress in a Lead Role – FilmIsolation
2011Irish Film & Television AcademyBest Actress in a Supporting Role – TelevisionLove/Hate
2012Irish Film & Television AcademyBest Actress in a Supporting Role – TelevisionMisfits
2012Irish Film & Television AcademyBest Actress in a Lead Role – TelevisionShirley
2012Royal Television SocietyRTS Television Award for Best Actor Shirley
2012Irish Film & Television AcademyBest Actress in a Supporting Role – TelevisionSecret State
2015British Academy Scotland AwardsBest Actress in FilmIona
2015London Film Critics Circle AwardsBritish/Irish Actress of the YearLoving and Iona
2016New York Film Critics OnlineBest Breakthrough PerformerLoving
2016African-American Film Critics AssociationBest ActressLoving
2016Alliance of Women Film JournalistsBest ActressLoving
2016Black Reel AwardsOutstanding ActressLoving
2016Palm Springs International Film FestivalRising Star AwardLoving
2016Santa Barbara International Film FestivalVituosos AwardLoving
2016Satellite AwardsBest Actress Loving
2016Academy AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016AACTA International AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016Austin Film Critics AssociationBest ActressLoving
2016British Academy Film AwardsBAFTA Rising Star AwardLoving
2016Critics' Choice Movie AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016Detroit Film Critics Society AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016Florida Film Critics Circle AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016Golden Globe AwardsBest Actress in a Motion Picture – DramaLoving
2016Gotham Independent Film AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016Independent Spirit AwardsBest Female LeadLoving
2016London Film Critics Circle AwardsBritish/Irish Actress of the YearLoving
2016NAACP Image AwardsOutstanding Actress in a Motion PictureLoving
2016Online Film Critics Society AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016San Diego Film Critics Society AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016San Francisco Film Critics Circle AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association AwardsBest ActressLoving
2016Washington D.C. Area Film Critics AssociationBest ActressLoving
2016Irish Film & Television AcademyBest Actress in a Supporting Role – DramaAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
2019Daytime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Performer in an Animated ProgramAngela's Christmas