Ruth Wilson (born 13 January 1982) is an English actress. She has played 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 firs ...

'' (2006), Alice Morgan in the BBC psychological crime drama '' Luther'' (2010–2013, 2019), Alison Lockhart in the Showtime drama '' The Affair'' (2014–2018), and the eponymous character in '' Mrs Wilson'' (2018). From 2019 to 2022, she 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 Award for Best Actress. Her film credits include ''

The Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

'' (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 title role in ''

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

'', 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 pe ...

''. She is also a two-time

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

nominee for her performances in ''

Constellations A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellations were likely defin ...

'' and ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' on Broadway. She has won a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for her role in ''The Affair'' and received nominations for a

British Academy Television Award for Best Actress This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress. The British Academy Television Awards began in 1955. The Best Actress award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until ...

and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for the title role in ''

''.

Early life and education

Wilson was born in Ashford, Surrey, the daughter of Nigel Wilson, an

investment banker Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by unde ...

, and his wife Mary Metson, a

probation officer A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probat ...

. She has three older brothers. 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 Shepperton is a village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Spelthorne district, in north Surrey, England, around south west of central London. The settlement is on the north bank of the River Thames, between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Tha ...

, Surrey, and was raised as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. She attended Notre Dame School, an independent Catholic school for girls located in Cobham, before attending sixth form at Esher College. She attended Riverside Youth Theatre in Sunbury-on-Thames where she appeared in productions of The Curse of Fladsham House and The Wyrd Sisters. As a teenager, she worked as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

. She studied history at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

, and while there was also involved in student drama at the Nottingham New Theatre. 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. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

(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'', helping her teammates fight in the Battle of Pharsalus, and TV gameshow Traitor.

Career

Prior to her role in ''

'', Wilson had one professional screen credit, in '' Suburban Shootout'', a situation comedy she appeared in with

Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is a British actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with ''Thor (film), Thor'' in 2011 and incl ...

. 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 books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first t ...

'' mystery (''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

'') for ITV, and

Stephen Poliakoff Stephen Poliakoff (born 1 December 1952) is a British playwright, Film director, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of ''The Independent'' described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" and that he had "inherited Dennis Po ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

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 in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. For most substances, the melting and freezing points are the same temperature; however, certain substances possess dif ...

'' 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 Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

revival of ''

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

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

remake of ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan. McGoohan portrays Number Six (The Prisoner), Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a The Village (The Prisoner), mysteri ...

'', 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 '' Luther'' 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. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

's ''

'' at the

alongside

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...

. Her performance prompted ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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 and Hagai Levi. 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 ''

'', a play written by Nick Payne, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. 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 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 '' Mrs Wilson''. 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 another wife of her husband's, with whom she eventually 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 was also the executive producer for the series. In October 2020, Wilson won the BAFTA Cymru Award 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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to drama. In November 2023, it was announced that she would star as Emily Maitlis in the series '' A Very Royal Scandal''. In September 2024, Wilson was named as an Ambassador of

dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

Alzheimer's Research UK.

Acting credits

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 film actresses 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 Actors from the Borough of Spelthorne