Ruby Rose Langenheim (born 20 March 1986) is an Australian model, actress, and television presenter. Rose came to attention as a presenter on MTV Australia (2007–2011), followed by several high-profile modelling gigs, notably as the face of Maybelline New York in Australia. In addition, she has co-hosted various television shows, most notably Australia’s Next Top Model (2009) and The Project on Network Ten (2009–2011).
Rose pursued a career in acting from 2008 onwards. She had a small role in the drama Around the Block (2013) and came to global attention for her role in season three of the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black (2015–16). She also had large roles in the action films Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016), XXX: Return of Xander Cage (2017) and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) and co-starred in the musical comedy Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) and the monster film The Meg (2018). She also starred in the lead role of Kate Kane / Batwoman in the first season of the CW television series Batwoman (2019–20).
Early life
Rose was born in Melbourne, the daughter of Katia Langenheim, a 20-year-old single mother and artist, whom she describes as one of her role models and the great-granddaughter of German movie actress Ellen Bang. As a young child, she travelled frequently, living in rural Victoria, Tasmania, and Surfers Paradise before finally settling in Melbourne. As a teenager, she attended University High School and Footscray City College. Rose is the goddaughter of Indigenous Australian boxer Lionel Rose and the great-granddaughter of Alec Campbell, who was the last surviving Australian soldier who fought in the Battle of Gallipoli.
Career
Modelling and fashion
Rose first joined the Girlfriend model search in 2002, for which she came in second to Catherine McNeil. In 2010, she collaborated with the Australian fashion label Milk and Honey to design a capsule fashion line. The collection, named Milk and Honey Designed by Ruby Rose, includes washed jeans, leather jackets and T-shirts. The clothing line was available in selected retailers in Australia. Rose also released a collaboration collection with street footwear brand Gallaz.
In 2014, Rose began collaborating with Phoebe Dahl 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 clothes company JAG and luxury Danish label Georg Jensen. Rose is the face of Maybelline New York in Australia.
Since March 2016, Rose has been the face of Urban Decay Cosmetics.
In March 2017, Rose starred in Nike’s latest campaign “Kiss My Airs” celebrating its Air Max Day. In May, Rose was the face of Swarovski ‘Urban Fantasy’ FW17 Collection launch.
VJ career and television personality
Rose in 2012
In order to land her job 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. As part of the competition, she downed 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes against Jackass‘s Bam Margera, and kissed strangers on a busy Sydney street. She stated, “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 wants you to be yourself … not censoring anything and not conforming to anything.”
In 2009, Rose won the ASTRA Award for Favourite Female Personality. She also travelled to Kenya to “highlight … amazing work” done by Global Vision International. She appeared in the episode “Media Virgins”, of Australia’s Next Top Model, acting as a guest judge, and also worked as a correspondent for the finale of Australia’s Next Top Model.
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. 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, 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, and aired in 2010. Rose also hosted the Foxtel Mardi Gras for 3 consecutive years before becoming an official correspondent for Foxtel for the 2010 Winter Olympics. In October 2015, Rose hosted the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards alongside Ed Sheeran in Milan.
Acting career
Rose in 2012
Rose appeared on the first episode of Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, representing Generation M alongside comedian Josh Thomas. She was selected in 2008 to act in the Australian comedy film Suite for Fleur. She also appeared alongside Christina Ricci and Jack Thompson in the 2013 film Around the Block.
Rose credits her 2014 short film Break Free, which she produced herself, for the success of her acting career. In an interview with Variety, she described how she was not able to get a manager, agent, or audition; so she decided to create short films “as a way of being able to give myself something to do and to study my craft.” The film went viral, getting millions of views in a short period of time.
In 2015, Rose joined the Orange Is the New Black cast in season 3. Rose played inmate Stella Carlin, “whose sarcastic sense of humour and captivating looks quickly draw the attention of some of Litchfield’s inmates.” Rose’s performance was generally well received by the public. She was also cast in a guest role, as the service robot Wendy, in the science fiction series Dark Matter.
In 2016, Rose and Tom Felton lent their voices to the animated title Sheep & Wolves, with Rose as fiancé Bianca.
In 2016 and 2017, Rose appeared in three action film sequels, XXX: Return of Xander Cage, alongside Vin Diesel, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter as Abigail, and John Wick: Chapter 2, alongside Keanu Reeves; she also played a musical rival in the comedy Pitch Perfect 3, which was released in December 2017.
Rose co-starred in the Warner Bros. film The Meg, a shark epic based on the novel of the same name, alongside Jason Statham; the film was released on 10 August 2018.
On 7 August 2018, it was reported that Rose had been cast as Batwoman in an Arrowverse crossover. Her role as Kate Kane has been noted as the first openly lesbian lead superhero in television. Batwoman aired on The CW on 6 October 2019. Rose’s casting as Batwoman was met by backlash and criticism on social media. DC Comics, which owns the rights to the longtime comic book superheroine Batwoman, reintroduced the character in 2006 as a lesbian of Jewish descent. Some online commentators criticized Rose for not being Jewish, while the main focus of the scrutiny was the assertion that the fact she identifies as genderfluid made her “not gay enough” for the role. Rose quit Twitter and deactivated public commenting on her Instagram account following the backlash. Prior to leaving Twitter, she released a tweet responding to the negative reaction, stating, “Where on earth did ‘Ruby is not a lesbian therefore she can’t be batwoman’ come from — has to be the funniest most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read.” Rose called for unity between women and minorities, imploring women and the LGBT community to be kinder and more supportive of each other. Rose suffered an injury during the production of the first season. On 19 May 2020, Rose departed Batwoman after the first season, and did not initially give a definitive reason behind her departure. Her character was subsequently written out of the series and replaced with a new one named Ryan Wilder, portrayed by Javicia Leslie. In August, Rose called being the lead of a series “taxing” and stated her back surgery following the injury was a contributing factor in deciding to leave. In a March 2021 interview with ComicBookMovie.com when asked if she would reprise Kate at some point, Rose said, “I would totally do it. I don’t think it would serve the story because I think building the new Batwoman is more important than going back too far into Kate Kane, but of course I would.” Then she added on “I’ve watched a couple of episodes, and I think how they’re handling it is beautiful. I think it’s time to shine.”
On 22 May 2020, Rose portrayed Viola in a livestreamed table-read of Twelfth Night as part of a benefit to raise money for COVID-19 pandemic relief.
Rose will also star in the action comedy Three Sisters.
Music and charity work
In February 2012, Rose released her first single “Guilty Pleasure” with Gary Go. In November 2016, Rose released and directed The Veronicas’ single “On Your Side”. She is a supporter of many charities, won a charity boxing match, 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”.
Personal life
Rose came out as a lesbian at age 12. She said that she was bullied, and that it included both verbal and physical abuse by her male peers, because of her sexuality and gender variance. She was also sexually abused as a child by a relative. Rose experienced suicidal thoughts, and attempted suicide at age 12. Commenting on having attempted suicide multiple times throughout her life and being diagnosed with different disorders, including clinical depression (which was initially misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, she stated that she has struggled with mental health issues all of her life. She added, “What I have learned from the struggles of mental health is just how strong I am.”
Rose said she was convinced she was a boy while growing up and that she was saving up money to physically transition from female to male. 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.” 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.”
Rose is genderfluid, saying, “I am very gender fluid and feel more like I wake up every day sort of gender neutral.” This announcement came approximately a week after she released 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. 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. In 2017, Rose affirmed her identity as a woman, expressing relief for not undergoing gender reassignment surgery and her desire to have children one day.
In 2014, Rose announced her engagement to fashion designer Phoebe Dahl; in December 2015, they ended their romantic relationship. Rose was in a relationship with singer Jess Origliasso of The Veronicas from October 2016 to April 2018, having previously dated in 2008.
Rose is a vegan; she suggested that people who want to help address climate change should consider what they are eating.
In 2019, Rose underwent emergency back surgery for a spine issue that led to two herniated discs caused by doing physical stunts on the set of Batwoman. She said if she had not had the surgery, she would have been at risk of being paralyzed.
In the media
Rose at Australian Fashion Week in 2012
Various media outlets have commented on public fascination with Rose’s gender identity, gender expression, and physical appearance, including her tattoos and visual or behavioral similarities to Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber, and a younger Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2008 and 2009, she was chosen as one of the “25 Most Influential Gay and Lesbian Australians” by SameSame, an Australian online gay and lesbian community. 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. During 2015, she was the fifth most searched person on Google. PETA named her one of three “Sexiest Vegans” of 2017.
Emma Teitel of Maclean’s stated, “Rose 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.” Alex Rees of Cosmopolitan said that everyone was enamored of Rose at the time of her season three appearance on Orange Is the New Black.
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.” Teitel wrote that many on Twitter expressed skepticism that all it takes is a pretty face to change sexual orientation, and this was accompanied by the argument that saying “you ‘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 a part of the LGBT community, and cited a Jezebel 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 suggested that “one must either reject the norm (heterosexuality) or embrace it full force.” Disagreeing with this approach, she commented that “sexual exploration is a lot less daunting when labels are malleable”, and emphasized the idea of “letting everyone define their sexuality on their own terms.”
Rose acknowledged the public discourse concerning her physical appearance and subsequent debate on sexual fluidity, commenting that, while she thought it was brilliant and was not expecting it, some of her friends found the public affection toward her inappropriate: “They personally are offended by it, saying like, ‘You can’t just choose to be gay. You should say something about all these women that are saying turning gay.'” Rose stated that she is more neutral on the topic, and believes people are being complimentary when making such comments rather than trying to be derogatory or diminish the coming out process. She compared today’s society to how society was in the past, saying that people would probably watch someone onscreen that they were attracted to, but not be able to joke about it “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.
In Entertainment Weekly‘s 2019 LGBTQ special issue, Rose again discussed her gender identity, and the backlash to her casting as the title character of the television series Batwoman. She stated that the opportunity to audition for Orange Is the New Black came about because the show wanted to have a gender-neutral character, but that she has also received criticism because of her genderfluid identity, adding, “When I got cast as a lesbian in Batwoman, I didn’t know that being a gender-fluid woman meant that I couldn’t be a lesbian because I’m not a woman — not considered lesbian enough.” She said that while her initial response was dismissive, she later considered if there was a way to remedy the situation so that others would not be offended by her identity, stating, “That’s when I sort of said, ‘I’m a woman that identifies as a woman. I’m not trans. But if being gender-fluid means that I can’t identify as a woman at any point, then I guess I can’t be that.” She pondered making up a term that does not offend people and would indicate that she is “fluid in gender, but also a lesbian.”
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Around the Block | Hannah | Sarah Spillane | |
| 2014 | Break Free | Herself | Philip Lopez | Short film |
| 2016 | Sheep and Wolves | Bianca (voice) | Andrey Galat and Maksim Volkov | English dub |
| Resident Evil: The Final Chapter | Abigail | Paul W. S. Anderson | ||
| 2017 | XXX: Return of Xander Cage | Adele Wolff | D. J. Caruso | |
| John Wick: Chapter 2 | Ares | Chad Stahelski | ||
| Pitch Perfect 3 | Calamity | Trish Sie | ||
| 2018 | The Meg | Jaxx Herd | Jon Turteltaub | |
| 2020 | Cranston Academy: Monster Zone | Liz (voice) | Leopoldo Aguilar | English dub |
| The Doorman | Ali | Ryuhei Kitamura | ||
| 2021 | SAS: Red Notice | Grace | Magnus Martens | |
| Vanquish | Victoria | George Gallo | Post-production | |
| TBA | 1Up | Parker | Kyle Newman | Post-production |
| TBA | The Legitimate Wise Guy | George Gallo | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2011 | MTV Australia | Herself | MTV VJ |
| 2009–2010 | 20 to 1 | 2 episodes | |
| 2009 | Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation | Herself / Guest | |
| Australia’s Next Top Model | Herself / Guest Judge / Co-host | ||
| MTV Australia Awards 2009 | Herself / Host | ||
| 2009–2011 | The Project | Herself / Co-host | |
| 2010 | Ultimate School Musical | Herself / Host | |
| Logie Awards | |||
| Vancouver Winter Olympics | |||
| 2013 | Mr & Mrs Murder | Herself | Episode: “Early Checkout” |
| 2015–2016 | Orange Is the New Black | Stella Carlin | Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated – Glamour Award for International TV Actress |
| 2015 | Dark Matter | Wendy | Episode: “Episode Seven” |
| 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards | Herself / Co-host | ||
| 2017 | Lip Sync Battle | Herself | Episode: “Milla Jovovich vs. Ruby Rose” |
| 2018–2019 | The Flash | Kate Kane / Batwoman | Episode: “Elseworlds, Part 1” (uncredited), “Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 3” |
| Arrow | Episodes: “Elseworlds, Part 2”, “Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 4” | ||
| Supergirl | Episodes: “Elseworlds, Part 3”, “Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 1” | ||
| 2019–2020 | Batwoman | Lead role (season 1) | |
| 2020 | Legends of Tomorrow | Episode: “Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 5” |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | “Boys like You” | 360 | Love interest | |
| 2012 | “Guilty Pleasure” | Herself and Gary Go | Herself | |
| 2016 | “On Your Side” | The Veronicas | Love interest | Also writer and director |
| 2017 | “How A Heart Unbreaks” | Evermoist | Calamity | (Pitch Perfect 3 Movie) |
| 2020 | “Yo Visto Así” | Bad Bunny | Herself |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | ASTRA Awards | Favourite Female Personality | Herself | Won | ||
| 2015 | British LGBT Awards | Celebrity Rising Star | Nominated | |||
| GQ Australia | Woman of the Year | Won | ||||
| 2016 | British LGBT Awards | Celebrity of the Year | Nominated | |||
| GLAAD Media Awards | Stephen F. Kolzak Award | Won | Honoured at 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. | |||
| Glamour Awards | NEXT Breakthrough | Nominated | ||||
| 2017 | Australian LGBTI Awards | Celebrity of the Year | Won | |||
| 2020 | Queerty Awards | TV Performance | Batwoman | Nominated |