(1986-)

Who Is Ruby Rose?

Ruby Rose got her start as a model before becoming a popular MTV VJ and a TV host in Australia. She embarked on an acting career in 2008, and had a major breakthrough when she was cast on the third season of Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black in 2015. With the success of OITNB, Rose was subsequently recruited for multiple Hollywood action films: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017), and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017). She also tried her hand at musical comedy when she played a rival chanteuse in Pitch Perfect 3 (2017). In 2018, The CW announced it had cast Rose as the star of Batwoman, making her character the first gay superhero lead in television history.

Early Life and Career

Ruby Rose Langenheim was born on March 20, 1986, in Melbourne, Australia. She was raised by a young, artistic single mother, whom she is close to and views as a role model.

At age 12, Rose openly discussed her sexual orientation to her mother, but at the time, she didn’t know how to put a label on her feelings.

“I knew how I felt, I knew what I kind of identified as, but the words gay or lesbian, I didn’t know anyone else that was gay or lesbian, so I didn’t really know how to word it,” she told the Today Show. “I was just like, ‘I think I should let you know that when I eventually get a boyfriend, it will be a girl.’”

Rose attended Melbourne’s University High School and Footscray City College.

After finishing second place in a local model search, Rose dove into the modeling and fashion industry before becoming a popular MTV VJ.

As a television host, Rose was one of the faces of an Aussie news talk show called The 7pm Project and became the host for the reality show Ultimate School Musical, among others. She also served as a co-host on Australia’s Next Top Model.

Starting in 2008, she began focusing on an acting career. After appearing in small film roles, she decidedly produced her own short film, Break Free, which she attributes to helping her land jobs in Hollywood.

Movies and TV Shows

‘Orange Is the New Black’

Beginning in 2015, Rose had her star turn when she was cast as sarcastic but stunningly good-looking Aussie inmate Stella Carlin on seasons 3 and 4 of Netflix’s hit show Orange Is the New Black.

“I’ve landed a role in arguably one of the biggest television shows in the world… I think I’m playing an American so I have this dialect coach I was training with every day to nail the accent,” Rose told Variety when she initially heard she got the part of Stella. “And I get there and everything I had learned I had to unlearn in 20 seconds. But I’m really glad because it allowed them to take some liberties in the script using some lingo and even jokes involving dingos. Being able to play an Australian in an American-based show is also really cool; there aren’t many Australians playing Australians on TV.”

With her newfound fame in the U.S., the media began describing Rose as everyone’s new “girl crush,” but she quickly shrugged off the hype, having learned her lesson as a celebrity in Australia.

“I’ve had the lulls and ebbs and flows. I’ve been a has-been and an ‘It girl’ and has-been and an ‘It girl.’ I’ll be a has-been next week,” she told People about the buzz surrounding her OITNB role. “You just learn to ride the wave and just enjoy it. It’s not so serious, you know.”

‘Resident Evil,’ ‘Pitch Perfect 3’

Serious or not, Hollywood came calling. Since her breakout role in OITNB, Rose has been cast in a multitude of action films opposite some of the industry’s leading actors. She’s starred in the cult favorite Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) with Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter; xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017) with Vin Diesel; and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) with Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne.

Rose also showed her humorous and musical sides as the antagonistic band member Calamity in Pitch Perfect 3 (2017). In the summer of 2018, she dipped her toe in the sci-fi horror shark flick The Meg, alongside Jason Statham.

‘Batwoman’

In August 2018, Rose’s career continued to gain momentum with the announcement she had been selected to play Batwoman on The CW’s upcoming series of the same name, making her the first openly lesbian superhero lead in television history (Other superhero shows, like Arrow, also have featured LGBTQ characters).

Rose, who dates women and describes herself as gender fluid, was excited to take on the role. “The bat is out of the bag and I am beyond thrilled and honored…. This is something I would have died to have seen on TV when I was a young member of the LGBT community who never felt represented on tv and felt alone and different,” she wrote on Instagram.

In late September 2019, Rose revealed that she had undergone emergency surgery after suffering two herniated discs while doing stunts for the show. Batwoman premiered shortly afterward, and while Rose drew some praise for her portrayal of Kate Kane, the troubled heiress who pursues a path of vigilante justice, production was eventually shut down following the coronavirus outbreak.

In May 2020, two days after the season finale aired, Rose announced that she had “made the very difficult decision not to return” for season 2 of Batwoman.

Songs and DJ-ing

A woman of many talents, Rose has extended herself into music, releasing her first track “Guilty Pleasure” in 2012 with singer/songwriter Gary Go. She’s also supported and helped release the single “On Your Side” by the Aussie pop duo The Veronicas.

When not acting, Rose enjoyed working the DJ circuit, landing gigs at prominent clubs like New York City’s Pacha.

“It’s hard to be a credible actor and be considered a deejay, and it’s very hard to be a deejay and be considered a credible actor as a deejay. I want to promote my deejaying because I love doing it,” she told People in 2015. “It’s always this balance of trying to let people know that you can actually do two things at once.”

Gender Identity

“I am very gender fluid and feel more like I wake up every day sort of gender neutral,” Rose admitted shortly after releasing her self-produced 2014 short film Break Free, which shows her undergoing a feminine to masculine transformation. “I think at this stage I will stay a woman but … who knows. I’m so comfortable right now I feel wonderful about it, but I also fluctuate a lot.”

Personal Life

Rose has publicly admitted to be a victim of sexual abuse. She suffers from bipolar disorder and depression.

Rose was briefly engaged to fashion designer Phoebe Dahl before ending their relationship in 2015. From 2016 to 2018, she dated The Veronicas pop star Jess Origliasso.

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QUICK FACTS

• Birth Year: 1986
• Birth date: March 20, 1986
• Birth City: Melbourne
• Birth Country: Australia
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Australian model and actress Ruby Rose is best known for her roles in ‘Orange Is the New Black,’ ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ and ‘Batwoman.’
• Astrological Sign: Pisces
• Nacionalities
• Australian

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Ruby Rose Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/ruby-rose
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: May 20, 2020
• Original Published Date: August 8, 2018