Born in Scotland, Ruth was sent to dancing lessons at an early age to keep her cousin company. She showed promise and was accepted onto the Scottish Ballet’s Vocational Dance Education Scheme. She performed many child roles with Scottish Ballet, including the lead role of Clara in their “Nutcracker”. She won the titles of Scottish Junior Ballet Champion and Scottish Senior Ballet champion at Stage Festivals in Scotland as a teenager.

After working as a professional dancer with companies The Curve Foundation, Jazz Art UK and with Leah Stein at Dancebase Edinburgh, Ruth attended the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in London  where she gained a BA (Hons) Degree in Acting. She was picked as the “Critics Choice” by the adjudicator from The Stage Newspaper for her graduation showcase. After leaving drama college, she performed the lead role of Grusha in Bertolt Brecht’s “The Caucasian Chalk Circle”, which toured for The Palace Theatre, Watford in 2004.

Ruth toured the UK in 2005 with the Oxford Stage Company’s (née Headlong) revival of “Men Should Weep” in the role of Isa. Followed in 2006, where she played the lead female roles of Gretchen and Helen of Troy in “Faust” at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. The production was CATS-nominated Critics Awards for theatre in Scotland.

In 2007, Ruth played ballroom dancer Lily at the Citizens Theater’s sell out production of “No Mean City” and in 2008 she played the dual roles of Mrs. Beaver/Mrs. Mcready to glowing reviews in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” at The Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh.

Ruth was cast as a series regular in the ITV sitcom pilot “Above Their Stations” in 2009, which also starred Denis Lawson, Ashley Madekwe, Andrew Brooke and Simon Dudley and was shown on BBC Three. She is also credited with producing “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Hansel and Gretel” at the Avenue Theatre Company based in Greenwich during this time period as well as the short film “Sapphire Strange” and web series “John and Jane”.

Since moving to the USA in 2011, Ruth has had lead roles in the award winning indie film “Folklore” as well as in the feature films “The Cursed Man”, based on the cult novel by Keith Rommel, and “Hara Kiri”. She also voiced Merida in the video game “Disney Infinity 3.0”.

We love her as Rowena and, well, let’s face it, we just love her to bits and are excited to have her at the event.