Daniela Ruah Biography

Daniela Sofia Korn Ruah (b. December 2, 1983, Boston) is a Portuguese actress. She plays Kensi Blye in the CBS series NCIS: Los Angeles.

Early years

Daniela was born in Boston, the only child of Dr. Moisés Carlos Bentes Ruah and his wife Catarina Lia Azancot Korn. She has a distinguishable birthmark in her right eye, and her other eye is hazel. Her father was a Resident in Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat) in the Boston University-Tufts University Program. When Daniela was five years old, her father completed his Residency, and the family returned to Portugal, where she spent the rest of her childhood.

In 1498, all Portuguese Jews who refused to convert to Catholicism were expelled; and most of the extended Ruah family settled in Morocco. In the 19th century, when Jews were permitted to return, they were among the first Jews of historic Portuguese origin to return to Portugal. 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, 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.

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 London 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 Portuguese version of Dancing with the Stars 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 September 21, 2010, and airs Tuesdays at 9:00 pm on CBS, following NCIS at 8:00 p.m.

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 Awards.

Filmography

Films

* 2010 - "Sophia" in Red Tails

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
* 2001/2002 - Constança Valadas in Filha do Mar, TVI
* 2004 - Verónica Botelho in Inspector Max (Marcas do Passado) (guest star), TVI
* 2005/2006 - Rita Cruz in Dei-te Quase Tudo, TVI
* 2006/2007 - Daniela Pinto in Tu e Eu (protagonist), TVI
* 2008 - Rita in Casos da Vida (2008) (guest star), TVI

United States:

* 2009–present - Special Agent Kensi Blye in NCIS: Los Angeles (co-protagonist), CBS