Rukiya Bernard (born January 20, 1983) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
actress, producer and interior designer. She is known for her role as Doc in
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
's ''
Van Helsing
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...
'',''
The Cabin in the Woods
''The Cabin in the Woods'' is a 2011 science fiction horror comedy film directed by Drew Goddard in his directorial debut, produced by Joss Whedon, and written by Whedon and Goddard. It stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, ...
'' (2012),
''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (2008) and ''Stuck'' (2007).
Early life
Rukiya Bernard was born in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
to Nyakiringa Magugu, an African art store owner, and Gilbert Bernard, a car wash owner. From a very young age, Rukiya’s parents immersed her in sport and art programming. She took part in basketball and track while studying classical ballet, karate and piano. She was accepted into
Ryerson University
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...
’s theatre program from which she graduated with honours.
Career
Rukiya's first job was the supporting role of Sophie Newman in
Ernest Dickerson
Ernest Roscoe Dickerson (born June 25, 1951) is an American director, cinematographer, and screenwriter of film, television, and music videos.
As a cinematographer, he is known for his frequent collaborations with Spike Lee ever since they were c ...
’s award-winning ''
Our America
''Our America'' is a film based on the book ''Our America: Life And Death on the South Side of Chicago''.Harvey, Denni ''Variety'', Jan. 16, 2002, retrieved 2008-07-10
It premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and aired on American televis ...
'' opposite
Josh Charles
Joshua Aaron Charles (born September 15, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for the roles of Dan Rydell on '' Sports Night; '' Will Gardner on ''The Good Wife'', which earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations; and his early wo ...
, Irma P. Hall and
Mykelti Williamson
Mykelti Williamson (born March 4, 1957) is an American actor best known for his roles in the films ''Forrest Gump'', ''Con Air'' and ''Ali'', and the television shows ''Boomtown'', '' 24'', and '' Justified''. In 2016, he portrayed Gabriel Maxso ...
.
Rukiya has appeared in TV shows including
SyFy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
's ''
Van Helsing
A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across ...
'',
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
’s ''
Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
'',
A&E’s ''The Returned'',
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
’s ''
Fairly Legal
''Fairly Legal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series which aired on USA Network from January 20, 2011, to June 15, 2012. The series starred Sarah Shahi, Michael Trucco, Virginia Williams, Baron Vaughn, and Ryan Johnson. USA Netw ...
'',
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...
’s ''The Gourmet Detective'',
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
’s ''
Eureka
Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
'',
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
’s ''The L Word'',
SyFy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
’s ''
Sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...
'' and ''SGU Stargate Universe'',
BBC America
BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary ser ...
’s ''
Intruders'' and
Lifetime’s ''Witches Of The East End''.
She has also appeared in ''
The Cabin In The Woods
''The Cabin in the Woods'' is a 2011 science fiction horror comedy film directed by Drew Goddard in his directorial debut, produced by Joss Whedon, and written by Whedon and Goddard. It stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, ...
'', ''Stuck'' and ''That Burning Feeling''.
Interior design
Rukiya is an interior designer and starred on
HGTV
HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...
’s reality TV show ''
The Stagers
''The Stagers'' is a half-hour reality television show about home staging that airs on HGTV in the U.S. and Canada. It is produced by Paperny Films and stars Matthew Finlason, Bridget Savereux, and Maureen Powers.
Synopsis
Official series syn ...
'' for two seasons.
Personal life
Rukiya is married to
P. J. Prinsloo, they have two children.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
Rukiya Bernardat the
Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Rukiya
1983 births
Living people
Actresses from Toronto
Canadian television actresses
Canadian people of Nigerian descent
Black Canadian actresses
Canadian interior designers