Ruth Negga: ‘I’m territorial over my identity’

Irish-Ethiopian actress Ruth Negga is protective of her identity as its been “hijacked” it over the years.
The Preacher star was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to an Irish mother and Ethiopian father, moving to Limerick, Ireland, when political violence broke out when she was four.
Ruth feels passionately about her dual identity, especially as others like to try and pigeonhole her.
“People have always made assumptions about me,” she told American Vogue. “I become very territorial about my identity because it’s been hijacked by so many people, with their own projections.”
Ruth graces the cover of the fashion glossy’s new issue, further cementing her status as a Hollywood A-lister. Her new film Loving has also helped propel her to global stardom. She stars alongside Joel Edgerton in the moving drama, about real life interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving who faced serious problems after they got married illegally in ‘50s America.
While she comes from a interracial family, Ruth, who dates fellow actor Dominic Cooper in real life, admits her own story is very different from Richard and Mildred’s.
“My mum never experienced that—I mean, never,” she shared, adding she also never felt different from her 23 Irish cousins growing up.
“I remember thinking, I’m just me. When you’re a kid, you’re just you, aren’t you? It was when I moved to England then I felt it, because I was Irish and black.”