Ruth Wilson (born 13 January 1982) is an English actress. She is known for her performances as the eponymous protagonist in ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'' (2006), as Alice Morgan in the BBC psychological crime drama ''

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (gi ...

'' (2010–2013, 2019), as Alison Lockhart in the Showtime drama '' The Affair'' (2014–2018), and as the eponymous character in ''

Mrs Wilson ''Mrs Wilson'' (formerly known as ''The Wilsons'') is a 2018 British historical drama serial, executive-produced by and starring Ruth Wilson. The actress plays her real-life grandmother, a widow who uncovers a mysterious and secret life followin ...

'' (2018). Since 2019, she has portrayed Marisa Coulter in the BBC/HBO fantasy series ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'', and for this role she won the 2020

BAFTA Cymru BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

Award for Best Actress. Her film credits include '' The Lone Ranger'' (2013), '' Saving Mr. Banks'' (2013), '' I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House'' (2016), and '' Dark River'' (2017). Wilson is a three-time Olivier Award nominee and two-time winner, earning the Best Actress for the titular role in ''

Anna Christie ''Anna Christie'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According to historian Paul Avrich, the ...

'', and the Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Stella Kowalski in ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of per ...

''. She is also a two-time

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

nominee for her performances in '' Constellations'' and ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'' on Broadway. She has won a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

for her role in ''The Affair'' and received nominations for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for the title role in ''

''.

Early life

Wilson was born in

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom *Ashford, Kent, a town **B ...

, the daughter of Nigel Wilson, an investment banker, and wife, Mary Metson, a probation officer. She has three older brothers: Tobias "Toby" Wilson, Samuel "Sam" Wilson (a BBC journalist), and Matthew Wilson. She is the granddaughter of novelist and MI6 officer Alexander Wilson and his third, bigamously-married, wife, Alison (née McKelvie). Her paternal great-grandmother was Irish. Wilson grew up in Shepperton, Surrey, and was raised as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. She attended Notre Dame School, an independent Catholic school for girls located in Cobham, before attending sixth form at Esher College. As a teenager, she worked as a model. She studied

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

at the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

, and while there was also involved in student drama at the

Nottingham New Theatre The Nottingham New Theatre is a playhouse and production company based on University Park Campus, Nottingham, England. It is funded in part by the University of Nottingham Students' Union and constitutes one of the Union's 10 Student-Run Se ...

. She graduated from Nottingham in 2003 and from the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

(LAMDA) in July 2005. Afterwards, she co-founded Hush Productions. During her time at Nottingham, she participated in the TV war strategy game ''

Time Commanders ''Time Commanders'' is a technological game show that originally aired on BBC Two from 4 September 2003 to 13 March 2005 with Eddie Mair hosting the first series and Richard Hammond hosting the second series. It returned for a 3-part special on ...

'', helping her teammates fight in the

Battle of Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus was the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War fought on 9 August 48 BC near Pharsalus in central Greece. Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the Roman Republic under the command of Pompey ...

Career

Prior to her role in ''

'', Wilson had one professional screen credit, in ''

Suburban Shootout ''Suburban Shootout'' is a British satirical black comedy television series produced for Channel 5 and Paramount Comedy by Feelgood Fiction in association with Oxygen. The first series aired in the UK on Channel 5 from 27 April 2006. It began ...

'', a situation comedy she appeared in with Tom Hiddleston. In 2006–2007, she filmed the second series of ''Suburban Shootout'', a new ''

Agatha Christie's Marple ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV television programme loosely based on the books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first ...

'' mystery (''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The ...

'') for ITV, and Stephen Poliakoff's BBC television drama ''

Capturing Mary ''Capturing Mary'' is a BBC television drama (co-produced by HBO), written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, starring Maggie Smith, David Walliams, Ruth Wilson and Danny Lee Wynter. It was aired on BBC Two on 12 November 2007. It is linked, by ...

'' as the young Mary. Wilson appeared in Gorky's ''Philistines'' in 2007, playing Tanya, at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

from May until August. In June, she presented the 2007 Lilian Baylis Awards. Other projects in 2007 included a guest appearance in the sitcom ''

Freezing Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. In accordance with the internationally established definition, freezing means the solidification phase change of a liquid ...

'' as Alison Fennel (transmitted on BBC2, 21 February 2008); narration of the documentary ''The Polish Ambulance Murders'' (transmitted on BBC4, 5 February 2008); and the portrayal of a mentally ill doctor in the dramatised documentary ''The Doctor Who Hears Voices'' (transmitted on UK Channel 4, 21 April 2008). From 23 July to 3 October 2009, she appeared as Stella in the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage and Josie Rourke have all served as artistic director, a post held since 2019 by Mi ...

revival of ''

.'' On 15 November 2009 AMC Television and ITV premiered the 2009 TV

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

remake of '' The Prisoner'', in which Wilson played the Village doctor, "No. 313". She played "Queenie" in an adaptation of Andrea Levy's '' Small Island'', which aired on BBC1 in December 2009 and also aired in the United States on PBS in 2010. Since 2010, she has appeared in the British psychological police drama ''

'' as Alice Morgan, a research scientist and highly intelligent individual described by Luther as a narcissist. In September 2012, the series' creator, Neil Cross, announced that he was in the process of creating a spin-off of ''Luther'' centred on Wilson's character, though as of 2018 this has not happened. Cross stated, "The BBC is very interested in the project. The only real question would be how many and how often we would do it – whether it would be a one-off miniseries or a returning miniseries, a co-production or not." While Wilson could not appear in series four of ''Luther'' due to filming clashing with ''The Affair'', she returned for series five. From 4 August to 8 October 2011, Wilson starred in the title role of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earli ...

's ''

'' at the

alongside

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Cés ...

. Her performance prompted ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' to devote an editorial to Wilson's "courageous, edgy and compelling talent". In 2014, Wilson began starring as Alison Bailey on the drama television series '' The Affair'', created by

Sarah Treem Sarah Treem is an American TV writer-producer and playwright. She is the co-creator and showrunner of the Showtime drama ''The Affair'', which won the Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Drama Series, and was a writer and co-executive producer o ...

and

Hagai Levi Hagai Levi ( he, חגי לוי; born on 2 July 1963) is an Israeli television creator, writer, director, and producer. Early life and education Levi was born in Sha'alvim, Israel in 1963. He studied psychology at Bar-Ilan University but left to ...

. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in January 2015 for her performance in the series' first season. She departed the series in 2018 after four seasons. It was reported in December 2019 that Wilson's departure was due to "frustrations with the nudity required of her, friction with Treem over the direction of her character, and what she ultimately felt was a 'hostile work environment'". Wilson made her Broadway debut in '' Constellations'', a play written by

Nick Payne Nick Payne (born 1984) is a British playwright and screenwriter. Early life and education Payne studied at the University of York and subsequently at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He is also a graduate of the Royal Court Young Write ...

, at the

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, formerly the Biltmore Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 261 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the neo-Renais ...

. She starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal throughout the play's run from 12 January to 14 March 2015. She received a

nomination for Best Actress in a Play for her performance. Her film '' I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House'', directed by Oz Perkins, premiered at the

2016 Toronto International Film Festival The 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 September 2016. The first announcement of films to be screened at the festival took place on 26 July. Almost 400 films were shown. Awards The festival's final awards were ...

. From December 2016 to February 2017, Wilson starred in the title role of Hedda Gabler in a new version by

Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber (born 19 September 1964) is an English comedian, playwright, director, actor, and screenwriter. Early life Marber was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Wimbledon, London, the son of Angela (Benj ...

at the

. The production, and Wilson's performance in particular, received critical acclaim. In November 2018, Wilson starred as the title character Alison Wilson—her real-life grandmother—in the BBC drama ''

''. Alison Wilson was the third of four wives of former MI6 officer and novelist Alexander Wilson. They were married for 22 years. After his death in 1963, Alison discovered one other wife with whom she collaborated on the funeral. In order not to create extra shock for his children, the other wife and her children attended the funeral as 'distant relatives'. Alison died in 2005 without knowing he had had two further wives. Ruth Wilson explains in a December 2018 ''Radio Times'' interview that the script for the series that showed Alison uncovering all of the wives was dramatised to reveal the full story during the series. She was also an executive producer for the series. In October 2020, Wilson won the

BAFTA Cymru Award BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA in Wales or WAFTA) is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and was founded in 1987.

for Best Actress for her portrayal of Marisa Coulter in ''His Dark Materials''. In November 2020, it was announced that she would be starring as Norwegian diplomat Mona Juul in a filmed version of J. T. Rogers' Tony Award-winning play ''Oslo''. Wilson was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to drama.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Radio

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Ruth 1982 births Living people Actresses from Surrey Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Alumni of the University of Nottingham Audiobook narrators Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (television) winners English people of Irish descent English people of Scottish descent English radio actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English voice actresses Laurence Olivier Award winners Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Notre Dame School, Surrey People from Ashford, Surrey People from Shepperton Theatre World Award winners 21st-century English actresses