Ruby Rose Langenheim (born 20
March 1986), better known as Ruby Rose, is an Australian
model, DJ, recording artist, actress, television presenter, and former MTV VJ. Rose emerged in
the media spotlight as a presenter on MTV Australia, followed by
several high profile modelling gigs, notably as the face of Maybelline New York in
Australia. In addition to her modelling career, she has co-hosted various
television shows, namely Australia's Next Top Model and The Project on Network Ten.
Rose pursued a career in acting from
2008 onwards, with her debut performance in the Australian film Suite
for Fleur. In 2012, she had a small role in the drama Around the Block. Perhaps her most
internationally recognisable work has been on the television series Orange Is the New
Black as Stella Carlin. Although her personal life sometimes overshadows
her acting and modelling career, she has achieved praise for her work in the
series.
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Ruby Rose
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Rose in 2012, at
the premiere of Katy Perry: Part of Me in Sydney, Australia
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Born
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Ruby Rose
Langenheim
20 March 1986 (age 30) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
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Occupation
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Television presenter, DJ, actress,
model, VJ, recording artist
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Website
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rubyroseofficial.com
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Early life[edit]
Rose was born in Melbourne[2] to Katia
Langenheim,[3] a 20-year-old single mother and artist, whom she now describes as
one of her role models.[4] As a young child, she travelled
frequently, living in rural Victoria, Tasmania, and Surfers Paradise before
finally settling in Melbourne.[5] As a
teenager, she attended University High School andFootscray City
College.[6] Ruby is the god-daughter of Indigenous Australian boxer Lionel Rose and the
great-granddaughter of Alec Campbell, the last surviving Australian Battle of Gallipoli soldier.[7]
Career[edit]
Modelling and fashion[edit]
Rose first gained fame by joining
the Girlfriend model search in 2002, which she came in second to Catherine McNeil.[7] In 2010, she
collaborated with the Australian fashion label Milk and Honey to design a
capsule fashion line, which embodies her unique style and personality. The
collection, named Milk and Honey Designed by Ruby Rose,[8] includes
washed jeans, leather jackets and T-shirts with unique designs. The newly
created clothing line is available in selected retailers in Australia. In
addition to designing for Milk & Honey, Rose also released a collaboration
collection with street footwear brand Gallaz.
In 2014, Rose began collaborating
with Phoebe Dahl, designing ethical street-wear for their clothing range
Faircloth Lane. She has featured predominantly within mainstream fashion
titles, including Vogue Australia, InStyle Magazine, Marie-Claire Magazine,
Cleo, Cosmopolitan, Maxim, Nylon and New York's Inked Magazine. She's been the
Australian ambassador for JVC, Australian jeans company JAG and luxury Danish
label Georg Jensen. Rose is the face of Maybelline New York in
Australia.
VJ career and television personality[edit]
In order to land her gig as an
MTV VJ in Australia, Rose competed against 2000 other hopefuls in a
three-week national search, as former VJ Lyndsey Rodrigues moved to the
United States to co-host TRL.[7] As part of
the competition, she downed 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes against Jackass' Bam Margera, and kissed
strangers on a busy Sydney street.[7][7] However, she
enjoys her job as VJ compared to her previous job as a model. "Being a
model there is always something they want to change. Whether they want someone
a little bit skinnier, a little bit taller, a little bit prettier, but MTV want
you to be yourself ... not censoring anything and not conforming to
anything".[7]
Rose in 2012
In 2009, Rose won the ASTRA Award for Favourite
Female Personality.[9] She also travelled to Kenya to "highlight ... [the] amazing
work" done by Global Vision International.[5] She appeared
in the episode "Media Virgins", of Australia's Next
Top Model, acting as a guest judge,[10] and also
worked as a correspondent for the finale of Australia's Next Top Model.[11]
In July 2009, Rose along with Dave Hughes, Charlie Pickering, Carrie Bickmore and James Mathison hosted The 7pm Project, an Australian
television news talk show produced by Roving Enterprises which airs
weeknights on Network Ten.[12] She left the program to pursue her own hosting projects. In
October 2009, it was announced that FOX8 had picked up the rights to UK
format Ultimate School Musical,[13] which
features ordinary teenagers from a school attempting to put on a music
production to a professional standard in just six weeks. The Australian version
was produced by FremantleMedia Australia with Rose as host,[14] and aired in
2010. Rose also hosted the Foxtel Mardi Gras for 3 consecutive years before
becoming an official correspondent for Foxtel for the Vancouver Winter
Olympics in 2010. In October 2015, Rose hosted the 2015 MTV Europe
Music Awards alongside Ed Sheeran in Milan.
Acting career[edit]
Rose appeared on the first episode
of Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, representing Generation Y alongside
comedian Josh Thomas.[15] She was selected in 2008 to act in the Australian comedy
film Suite for Fleur.[16][17] She also
starred alongside Christina Ricci and Jack Thompson in the 2013 film Around the Block.
In 2015, Rose joined the Orange Is the New
Black cast in Season 3. Rose plays new inmate Stella Carlin, "whose
sarcastic sense of humor and captivating looks quickly draw the attention of
some of Litchfield's inmates."[18][19] It premiered
in Australia on 9 October 2013, on Showcase.[20] The series
has received positive critical attention and has been a hit with audiences.[21] Rose's
performance was well received.[1] She was also
cast in a guest role, as the service robot Wendy, in the science fiction
series Dark Matter.[22] In September 2015, it was announced that Rose had been cast
for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter as Abigail. On 4 November, it
was announced that Rose and Tom Felton would lend
their voices in the upcoming animated title Sheep'n’Wolves, with Rose as his
fiancé Bianca. On 9 November, it was announced that Rose has been cast for the
action sequelJohn Wick: Chapter Two, alongside Keanu Reeves; the film is set
for a 2016 release. On 7 January 2016, Rose confirmed she will be joining the
cast of the action sequel xXx: Xander Cage return alongside Vin Diesel.
Music and charity work[edit]
In November 2012, Rose released her
first single "Guilty Pleasure" with Gary Go.[23] She is a
generous supporter of many charities, won a charity boxing match,[24] and has
travelled to Laos and Africa to volunteer each year. Issues of concern to her
include animal welfare, campaigns for anti-bullying and youth mental health,
where she works as an ambassador for Headspace. Known for being
extensively tattooed, she showed off her tattoos in a photo spread for Maxim Australia and PETA, as part of the
campaign "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur".[25][26]
Personal life[edit]
Rose came out as a lesbian
at the age of 12.[27][28] Because of her sexuality, she suffered verbal taunts and physical
abuse from her schoolmates, which led to a suicide attempt.[27] She was
also sexually abused as a child by a relative,[29] and has bipolar disorder with a
propensity towards clinical depression.[27]
With regard to childhood gender
nonconformity, Rose said she wanted to be a boy while growing up and that she was
saving up money to physically transition from female
to male.[30][31] She said, "It was in my mind as something I wanted to do and
then I just... didn't. I guess I grew out of it. I even used to sleep on my
front because I didn't want to get boobs ever, which I think worked
actually."[31] She stated that modelling led her to discover androgyny, and allowed her
to model with different gender expressions. She recalled, "I remember
being at a Yum Cha restaurant with my dad and the owner coming up and saying,
'Excuse me, we're trying to work out if you're a handsome boy or a beautiful
girl.' It was a compliment and I was shocked, and when I thought about it I
actually wanted to be a handsome boy".[32]
Rose is genderfluid, saying, "I
am very gender fluid and feel more like I wake up every day sort of gender
neutral."[33] This announcement came approximately a week after she released a
short film called Break Free, in which she visually transforms from
a very feminine woman to a heavily tattooed man. Rose stated, however, that she
prefers to continue using feminine pronouns.[34] While if she
had to choose a sex, she commented that she would choose to be male, she does
not feel like she should have been born with different body parts. Seeing the
desire her transgender friends had for transitioning, she asked herself if her need to
transition matched theirs, and concluded that she is satisfied being gender
neutral. "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," she added.[30]
Rose's dating life has also been
subject to media attention. In 2008, she was reported to be in a relationship
with Jessica Origliasso from The Veronicas, as the two had been seen behaving intimately.[35] She stated in
a live blog that they are simply "really good mates".[28] Rose was in a
relationship with Australia's Next Top Model contestant
Lola Van Vorst and was also briefly engaged to model Lyndsey Anne McMillan.
They had planned to marry but ended their relationship in late 2009.[36][37] Also in late
2009, after breaking up with McMillan, news sites reported on Rose kissing
Australian supermodel Catherine McNeil during a pool party in Los
Angeles.[38][39] In 2010, she became engaged to McNeil, but the couple called off
the engagement on 2 July 2010.[40] In March
2014, she reported that she was engaged to Phoebe Dahl, granddaughter of
author Roald Dahland cousin of model Sophie Dahl.[41] As of
December 2015, Rose and Dahl are no longer in a romantic relationship.[42][43]
In the media[edit]
Rose at Australian Fashion
Week in 2012
Various media outlets have commented
on public fascination with Rose's gender identity, gender
expression, and looks, including her tattoos and visual or behavioral
similarities to Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber and a younger Leonardo DiCaprio.[44][45][46] In 2008 and
2009, she was chosen as one of the "25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian
Australians" by Same Same, an Australian online gay and lesbian community.[47] The public
and media attention increased following Rose's debut on Orange Is the
New Black, significantly with regard to heterosexual women commenting on
her physical appearance.[44][48] During 2015, she was the fifth
most searched person on Google.[49]
Emma Teitel of Maclean's stated,
"Rose, 29, resembles an androgynous Angelina Jolie; she is a rare
combination of angular and soft. She is a badass with a permanently arched brow
and a Justin Bieber haircut. In other words, she is the lesbian James Dean. And
straight women are falling madly in love with her."[48] Alex Rees
of Cosmopolitan commented, "Have you watched Orange Is the New
Black's third season yet? If so, you're in love with Ruby Rose, right?
[...] Everyone is in love with Ruby Rose now; literally everyone—but it's also
OK if you're not quite ready to admit it either. (But this is a safe space, so
feel free to open up.)"[50]
The media attention resulted in a
new, open discourse about sexual fluidity and whether or not sexual orientation can change,
with some of the media expressing disapproval toward heterosexual women stating
that they would "go gay for Ruby Rose."[48][50] Teitel wrote
that "social media lit up with tweets" expressing skepticism that all
it takes is a pretty face to change sexual orientation, and was accompanied by
the argument that saying "you [can] 'go gay' for Ruby Rose reinforces the
idea that sexuality is a choice, and is homophobic." She felt that it was
predictable and ironic that the people most eager to admonish others for
expressing their attraction to Rose were those a part of the LGBT community, and cited aJezebel article which
commented that homosexuality and bisexuality are not simply identities to show
off liberalism, but are rather "built into a person's biology." To
Teitel, "this response suggests that our newly progressive world—one of supposedly
collapsed sexual boundaries—may not be so progressive after all. One must
either reject the norm (heterosexuality) or embrace it full force." She
believes this was a wasted opportunity for sexual exploration, which she cites
as "a lot less daunting when labels are malleable," and that in
contrast to Jezebel writer Madeleine Davies stating that homosexuality and
bisexuality are not "identities you get to try on for a day," the
world would be a better place if they were. Teitel added, "The key to a
tolerant and sexually flexible society is not in jumping down people's throats
when they play fast and loose with labels. It's in letting everyone define
their sexuality on their own terms."[48]
Rose acknowledged the public
discourse concerning her physical appearance and subsequent debate on sexual
fluidity, commenting that, while she thinks it is brilliant and was not
expecting it, some of her friends found the public affection toward her
inappropriate: "They personally are offended by it, [and are] saying like,
'You can't just choose to be gay. You should say something about all these
women that are saying [they're] turning gay.'" Rose stated that she is
more neutral on the topic, and believes people are being complimentary when
making such comments. "I don't think anyone's doing it to be derogatory or
to take away from what it really means to come out and identify as a different
sexuality than what people will think you are," she said. She compared
today's society to how society was ten years ago, saying that people would probably
watch someone onscreen that they were attracted to, but not be able to
"make a funny meme and say, 'Oh my god, I'm gay!' because that would be so
frowned upon." She said that people should not nitpick who can or cannot
identify as genderqueer, gender-neutral, bisexual or trans, or tell them how to
live their lives, adding that people should let others say what they want to
about their sexuality, and that this is a message the LGBT community should be
supporting.[50]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
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Year
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Title
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Role
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Notes
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2013
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Around the Block
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Hanna
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Lead Role
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2014
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Break Free
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Herself
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Short Film
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2016
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Sheep and Wolves
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Blanca
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Voice
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2017
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John Wick: Chapter Two
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TBA
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Lead Role
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2017
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xXx: The Return of Xander Cage
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Adele Wolff
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Lead Role
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2017
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Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
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Abigail
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Lead Role
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Television[edit]
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Year
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Title
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Role
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Notes
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2007-2011
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MTV Australia
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Herself
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MTV VJ
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2008
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Good News Week
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Herself
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Guest
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2009
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Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation
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Herself
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Guest
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2009–2010
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20 to 1
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Herself
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2 EP
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2009
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Rove
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Herself
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Guest
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2009
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Australia's Next Top Model
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Herself
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Guest Judge/ Co-Host
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2009
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MTV Australia Awards 2009
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Herself
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Host (Red Carpet)
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2009-2011
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The Project
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Herself
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Co-Host
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2010
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Ultimate School Musical
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Herself
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Host
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2010
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52nd Logies Awards
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Herself
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Host (Red Carpet)
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2010
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Vancouver Winter Olympics
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Herself
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Host (Foxtel)
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2013
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Mr & Mrs Murder
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Ruby Rose
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Guest/ Season 1, EP 1
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2015
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Dark Matter
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Wendy
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Guest/ Season 1, EP 7
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2015
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Orange Is the New Black
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Stella Carlin
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Recurring Role / Season 3
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2015
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Conan
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Herself
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Guest
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2015
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2015 MTV Europe Music Awards
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Herself
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Co-Host
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Awards and nominations[edit]
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Year
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Association
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Category
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Nominated work
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Result
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Ref.
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Notes
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2009
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ASTRA Awards
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Favourite Female Personality
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Herself
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Won
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[51]
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2015
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British LGBT
Awards
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Celebrity Rising Star
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Herself
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Nominated
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[52]
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2015
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GQ Australia
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Woman of the Year
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Herself
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Won
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[53]
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2016
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SAG Awards
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Outstanding
Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
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Orange Is the New
Black
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Won
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[54]
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2016
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British LGBT
Awards
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Celebrity of the Year
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Herself
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Pending
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[55]
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2016
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GLAAD Media
Awards
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Stephen F. Kolzak
Award
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Herself
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Pending
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[56]
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To be honored at 27th Annual GLAAD
Media Awards.
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