Ruth Negga Biography, Parents, Husband and Split From Dominic Cooper

Quick Facts

Hollywood actors and actresses usually have an air of glamour and celebrity around them, seemingly existing in a different world from the rest of us. Still, a few of them we come across appear to be regular and down to earth; Ruth Negga is one of such personalities. Despite an Oscars Best Actress nomination under her belt, the actress has remained shy and reserved in the face of fame.

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about the actress best known for her roles on Loving, Preacher and Agents Of SHIELD.

Biography

Ruth Negga’s portrayal of Mildred Loving in the film, Loving earned her rave reviews and critical validation that included an Oscar Best Actress nomination. The film was about an interracial couple and the legality of their union in 60s America; Ruth Negga herself is a product of a similar relationship. She is the daughter of Dr. Negga, an Ethiopian doctor who married her mother, an Irish nurse. She was born on the 7th of January in 1982 in Addis Ababa.

After an unfortunate accident that cost her father his life when she was seven years old, Ruth was left to be raised alone by her mother in Limerick, Ireland.

For her education, Ruth Negga studied Acting Studies at Trinity College, Dublin. We can’t say for certain what drew Ruth to acting as it isn’t a profession you find someone of her shy personality in but she went ahead with her pursuit in 2006 and relocated to London to further her acting career.

Before moving to London, the actress already made her film debut in Capital Letters in 2004, playing the lead role in her very first film. After that, she played another lead role in Isolation in 2005.

Ruth Negga’s slew of lead roles in her first set of feature films came from the general opinion of her performances in the theatre. The actress started her acting career as a stage actress, appearing most notably in the stage play, Duck in Traverse Theatre in 2003. Since her first theatre appearance, she has gone on to appear in other plays like Phèdre, Hamlet, and Playboy of the Western World.

Known for both her film and television work, Ruth Negga appeared in her first television film in 2004. She went on to have guest appearances in shows like Doctors and Love is the Drug. She played the main role in the first season of Criminal Justice and also in Personal Affairs. Her appearance in Shirley – 2011, won her an IFTA award for Best Actress.

Ruth Negga would have gotten her breakthrough Hollywood role in the Oscar-winning film, 12 Years a Slave in 2013, but after filming scenes for the film, she was cut from the final version. She however still got her breakthrough in the same year after she was cast as Raina in the hit show, Agents of SHIELD.

After starring in a recurring role on Agents of SHIELD for two seasons, the actress was cast as a lead actress on Preacher, an AMC series in 2015. In the same year, she was cast in Loving, and the film was released the following year to critical acclaim. Her performance earned her multiple nominations across many major film awards.

Her other prominent projects include World War Z, Warcraft, of Mind and Music, Noble, Misfits, and Secret State.

Other than film and television, her other roles include voice acting for a video game, Dark Souls II. She was nominated for two BTVA Awards for her performance.

Parents

Unfortunately, Ruth Negga never got a chance to spend a lot of years with both of her parents. She lost her father to a car accident at the age of seven. Her father was a medical doctor and her mother is a nurse. They both met in Addis Ababa while her mother was there for a medical outreach. She lived in Addis Ababa until the age of four before moving to Ireland.

Ruth Negga – Husband, Split from Dominic Cooper

Ruth Negga is currently not married. She was however in a long-term relationship with her Preacher co-star, . The two started dating in 2010 and lived together in London. Despite breaking up after five years together, their split was not reported by the media until 2018.

The two are in a remarkable position of playing lovers on the show – Preacher, but while that might be a source of conflict and awkwardness, the couple insists they are still best friends.

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