Biography
Rutina Wesley is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Tara Thornton in the HBO series True Blood (2008–2014) and Nova Bordelon in the OWN series Queen Sugar (2016–2022). She has also appeared as Maria in the HBO series The Last of Us (2023).
Wesley was born on 21 December 1978 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her father, Ivery Wheeler, is a professional tap dancer and her mother, Cassandra Wesley, was a showgirl. She attended the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts, earned a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Evansville in 2001, and graduated from the Juilliard School in 2005. She made her Broadway debut in The Vertical Hour (2006).
