Rutina Wesley

Rutina Wesley
Wesley in July 2012 at SDCC
Born	(1979-02-01) February 1, 1979 (age 38) Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Education	University of Evansville (BFA 2001) Juilliard School (2005)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2005–present
Spouse(s)	Jacob Fishel (2005–2013; filed for divorce)

Rutina Wesley (born February 1, 1979) is an American film, stage, and television actress best known for her roles as Tara Thornton on the HBO series True Blood and Nova Bordelon on the OWN series Queen Sugar.

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 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 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance in 2001, 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 (Group 34), which included a summer spent at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. At Juilliard, she became close friends with her future co-star Nelsan Ellis (Group 33: 2000–2004).

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, Aaron Lohr among others.