Learn the facts on Rutina Wesley – an American actress who became well-known for her role in the HBO series True Blood as Tara Thornton.
Rutina Wesley is 44 years old. She was born on December 21, 1978, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Her father was a renowned tap dancer.
Her mother was once a Vegas showgirl.
Wesley studied at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts.
She studied dance at the Simba Studies and West Las Vegas Arts Center.
She has an undergraduate degree in Theater Performance at the University of Evansville.
She spent a whole summer at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
She first appeared on Broadway in The Vertical Hour.
She also appeared in The Public Theater production of In Darfur.
In 2019, she had a role on the hit show The Walking Dead as Jocelyn, Michonne’s old college friend.
She was due to appear in Hitch, but her scene was edited during the final cut.
In 2007, she made her screen debut in How She Move.
Her character was inspired by John Travolta’s performance in Saturday Night Fever.
Even after years of dance education, Wesley still underwent five-week dance rehearsal for How She Move.
For the role, she also undertook dialect coaching for a Jamaican role.
In 2007, she auditioned for series regular Tara Thornton in the HBO show True Blood.
She received the role, as she showed the characters vulnerability.
Her audition scene was Tara losing her job at the Super Save-a-Bunch.
She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in True Blood.
Wesley guest starred in The Cleveland Show as Yvette.
Her first voice acting role was as Agent Kenwyn Jones in Generator Rex.
She is set to star in Left to Tell, a biopic about the Rwandan Genocide.
Wesley knew she wanted to be an actress when she was 7.
Her grandmother hoped she would be a nurse.
She used to wait and clean tables at the Stratosphere’s 50’s style diner, “Roxy’s Diner”.
She married her partner, Jacob Fishel, in 2006.
She divides her time between Los Angeles and Astoria, Queens, New York.
She enjoys karaoke and baseball.
Her favorite show is So You Think You Can Dance?.
