Daniela Ruah
Encyclopedia
Daniela Sofia Korn Ruah (born December 2, 1983) is a Portuguese-American actress best known for playing NCIS Special Agent Kensi Blye in the CBS
series NCIS: Los Angeles.
in her right eye, and her other eye is hazel, giving her eyes a unique appearance as one is brown/blackish and the other is hazel.
Her father was a resident
in Otolaryngology
(Ear, Nose, and Throat) in the Boston University
-Tufts University
Program. When Ruah was five years old, her father completed his Residency, and the family returned to Portugal
, where the parents divorced and where she spent the rest of her childhood. Her father is of Sephardic Portuguese Jewish
descent. Ruah's mother is the daughter of a Sephardi mother, who was born in Portugal, and an Ashkenazi father, who was born (1922) in what is now Wrocław, Poland
.
Ruah attended Saint Julian's School
in Carcavelos, near Lisbon
. She earned a Bachelor of Arts
from London Metropolitan University
. She was an active member of the Portuguese Jewish community, of which her father's second cousin, also a doctor, is the head. In 2003, the Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA) ran a piece about an annual gathering of Jewish young people from 32 countries sponsored by European Union of Jewish Students
. Ruah, then 19 and still living in Lisbon, was one of the students the JTA interviewed. She said, "I've never been around as many Jews in my entire life. Here, you don't feel the need to explain to people who you are. I am meeting people who eat kosher for the first time ever."
Ruah speaks three languages fluently—Portuguese
, English
, and Spanish
. She holds dual citizenship
in the United States
and Portugal
.
to study at the London Metropolitan University
, where she earned a First
in Performing Arts. Ruah returned to Portugal to pursue her acting career. She was the winner of the celebrity dancing competition Dança Comigo and had principal roles in television series, short films, and theatre. In 2007, she moved to New York to study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
.
Ruah stars as Special Agent Kensi Blye in NCIS: Los Angeles, which premiered on September 22, 2009. Season 2 premiered on September 21, 2010, and airs Tuesdays at 9:00 pm on CBS, following NCIS
at 8:00 p.m. Season 3 premiered on September 20th 2011.
. Daniela Ruah has been pre-nominated for an Emmy Award
in June 2011. Winner of TV Action Icon Award 2011
United States:
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
series NCIS: Los Angeles.
Early years
Ruah was born in Boston (USA), the only child of Dr. Moisés Carlos Bentes Ruah and his former wife Catarina Lia Azancot Korn. She has a distinguishable birthmarkBirthmark
A birthmark is a benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth, usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocytes, smooth muscle, fat, fibroblasts, or...
in her right eye, and her other eye is hazel, giving her eyes a unique appearance as one is brown/blackish and the other is hazel.
Her father was a resident
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
in Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....
(Ear, Nose, and Throat) in the Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
-Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
Program. When Ruah was five years old, her father completed his Residency, and the family returned to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, where the parents divorced and where she spent the rest of her childhood. Her father is of Sephardic Portuguese Jewish
History of the Jews in Portugal
The history of the Jews in Portugal reaches back over two thousand years and is directly related to Sephardi history, a Jewish ethnic division that represents communities who have originated in the Iberian Peninsula .-Before Portugal:...
descent. Ruah's mother is the daughter of a Sephardi mother, who was born in Portugal, and an Ashkenazi father, who was born (1922) in what is now Wrocław, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Ruah attended Saint Julian's School
Saint Julian's School
St. Julian's is a private school in Carcavelos, Portugal. It was opened on November 25, 1932, on the site of an 18th century palace, built by José Francisco da Cruz, Treasurer to King D. José I. Several national and international famous figures have their children studying at St. Julian's...
in Carcavelos, near Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. She earned a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
. She was an active member of the Portuguese Jewish community, of which her father's second cousin, also a doctor, is the head. In 2003, the Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA) ran a piece about an annual gathering of Jewish young people from 32 countries sponsored by European Union of Jewish Students
European Union of Jewish Students
The European Union of Jewish Students is an umbrella organization for 34 national Jewish student unions in Europe and the FSU, representing over 200,000 Jewish students...
. Ruah, then 19 and still living in Lisbon, was one of the students the JTA interviewed. She said, "I've never been around as many Jews in my entire life. Here, you don't feel the need to explain to people who you are. I am meeting people who eat kosher for the first time ever."
Ruah speaks three languages fluently—Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. She holds dual citizenship
Multiple citizenship
Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
Career
Ruah started acting in Portuguese soap operas when she was a teen. Her first acting role came at the age of 16, when she auditioned for the soap opera Jardins Proibidos and won the role of Sara. Ruah kept working on diverse projects while she was finishing high school. At the age of 18, she moved to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to study at the London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
, where she earned a First
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
in Performing Arts. Ruah returned to Portugal to pursue her acting career. She was the winner of the celebrity dancing competition Dança Comigo and had principal roles in television series, short films, and theatre. In 2007, she moved to New York to study at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
__notoc__The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute is an acting school located at 115 East 15th Street between Union Square East and Irving Place in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, as well as at 7936 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California...
.
Ruah stars as Special Agent Kensi Blye in NCIS: Los Angeles, which premiered on September 22, 2009. Season 2 premiered on September 21, 2010, and airs Tuesdays at 9:00 pm on CBS, following NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
at 8:00 p.m. Season 3 premiered on September 20th 2011.
Awards
In 2010, Ruah won the Portuguese Golden Globe award for 'Revelation of the Year'. In June 2010, she was nominated for best TV Action female actress in the Teen Choice AwardsTeen Choice Awards
The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
. Daniela Ruah has been pre-nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in June 2011. Winner of TV Action Icon Award 2011
Short films
- 2006 - Canaviais
- 2008 - Blind Confession
- 2009 - Midnight Passion
- 2010 - Tu & Eu
Television
Portugal:- 2000/2001 - Sara in Jardins Proibidos, TVI
- 2001 - Zézinha in Querida Mãe, SIC
- 2001 - Mónica in Elsa, Uma Mulher Assim, RTP
- 2008 - Rita in Casos da Vida (2008) (guest star), TVI
United States:
- 2009–present - Special Agent Kensi Blye in NCIS: Los Angeles, female lead role alongside Eric Christian OlsenEric Christian OlsenEric Christian Olsen is an American actor. He currently portrays Detective Marty Deeks on the CBS television series NCIS: Los Angeles.-Early life:...
, Chris O'DonnellChris O'DonnellChristopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
and LL Cool JLL Cool JJames Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor... - 2011 - Special Agent Kensi Blye in the Hawaii Five-0 crossover episode with NCIS: Los Angeles