Rutina Wesley

Born on February 1, 1979, and raised in Las Vegas, Rutina Wesley has show business in her blood. Her father is a noted tap dancer and her mother was a Las Vegas show girl.

Wesley became interested in dance as a young girl and earned a degree in theatre performance at the University of Evansville in Indiana. From there, she was accepted to the prestigious Julliard School in NYC. During her time at Julliard, Wesley spent the summer at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

After Julliard, Wesley was cast in several Broadway plays, but her big break came in 2008 when she signed on to play Tara Thornton on the sexy HBO vampire drama True Blood.

Wesley is married to actor Jacob Fishel, a fellow Julliard graduate. The two have been married since 2006.