Ruby Rose transitioned from modeling to acting in 2008, but it would be a number of years
before the world came to know her name.
The Australian-born star made her debut in the low-budget flick Suite for Fleur, but
it would be her turn in Orange is the New Black, that would make her a global icon.
Rose counts herself "lucky" to be in the position she's in, but taking the fast track to the
A-list means sacrificing privacy.
Stories about her now light up the tabloids, but there are still parts of Rose's life that
remain hidden from public view.
Here are some things you might not know about Ruby Rose.
"Uh, man...I'm often mistaken for Justin Bieber.
All the time"
About that ink
Rose's tattoos have brought her a lot of attention over the years and it's no surprise, considering
the sheer amount of ink on her body.
She revealed that she has at least 109 tats, telling Marie Claire in 2018,
"If you count them individually, then that's an astronomical amount.
[…] They all have personal meanings or stories they are there to create a memory."
The Aussie actress told People her tattoos are like a visual journal that she started
at age 16, saying,
"I can trace a timeline of my life from where I've been […] by looking at this map on
my body.
And if I didn't have that, I would forget a lot of things."
But she told GQ she'd advise her teenage self:
"Maybe the tramp stamp off the wall is not really the best idea and you have plenty of
years to choose tattoos that are more suitable for you."
A rough start
Rose was born into a home plagued by substance and domestic abuse.
She told The Edit,
"I was a surprise and [my parents] probably weren't ready for a baby.
My mother left my dad after about a year.
[…] She got out of there for my safety."
My mom really raised me in a way that she allowed me to always be myself.
She raised me to be authentic to me and believe in who I was."
But her mother couldn't protect her at school, where Rose says was bullied by her classmates
from the age of 12 to 17.
In one instance, six kids smashed metal chairs over her head as other students cheered them
on.
The incident landed her in the hospital.
Years later, some classmates reached out to Rose asking for forgiveness.
She said,
"I wrote back and forgave them.
They didn't like the fact I was different."
The big transition
Rose revealed that growing up she at one point wanted to undergo sex reassignment surgery.
"Growing up there wasn't as many gay, queer, lesbian icons are there are today.
And I'm so glad that there are so many more."
She told the Daily Mail in 2014,
"I started a fund it's $20,000 to have the surgery and because we were so poor growing
up every time I would find five cents or some spare money I would put it in this fund to
have a sex change."
But she doesn't regret not going through with the surgery, telling The Edit,
"I'm a woman.
[…] I want to have babies one day, so I'm glad I didn't make changes earlier in my life."
Gender fluid flow
Rose's 2014 short Break Free explores gender roles and deviations from the status quo.
The actress describes herself as "gender-fluid," telling Elle,
"Gender fluidity is not really feeling like you're at one end of the spectrum or the other.
[…] I have a lot of characteristics that would normally be present in a guy and then
less that would be present in a woman.
But then sometimes I'll put on a skirt like today."
"I found my self-confidence and I found this like solace in really embracing who I think
that I was more meant to be"
In terms of her orientation, Rose is certainly not shy about discussing her life in the bedroom,
telling Cosmo,
"I'm very confident and in tune with my sexuality.
[…] There's something very empowering, strong, and feminist about being open and comfortable
in that world."
The game-changer
In 2017, Rose revealed to Ellen that her road to success was one filled with financial hardship.
She said she was unemployed for two years, adding,
"I started with a blow-up mattress from Target that me and my dog slept on for about a year."
She eventually landed the audition for Orange is the New Black after the show's casting
director saw her in Break Free.
"I just got an email..
My manager got an email.saying to do a self-tape for the character of Stella, and I self-taped
and I sent it in and I thought I would never hear anything ever again."
She remembered,
"I said to everyone on the show, 'Nobody's gonna notice I'm in this, blink and you'll
miss it.'
And everyone was like, 'No, this is going to change your life.'
[…] I was wrong."
Becoming a MEG-a star
Rose's stint on Orange is the New Black opened a lot of doors.
She dipped her toe into the Hollywood pond as Abigail in 2016's Resident Evil: The Final
Chapter.
But things really got rolling the following year with xXx: Return of Xander Cage, John
Wick: Chapter 2, and Pitch Perfect 3.
But 2018 has undoubtedly been her biggest year to date.
Not only did she realize a childhood dream when she was cast as Batwoman, but Rose also
had her most "enjoyable" movie-making experience, ever.
"This is not your grandparent's version of a shark movie."
According to Rose, she's been obsessed with the megaladon since childhood, so she jumped
at the chance to star in 2018's summer blockbuster, The Meg.
She told Stack,
"I was always drawing them in school, and when I would do a classroom presentation,
it was always about a megalodon.
[…] Being Australian, I love the water, the marine ecosystem and sharks."
Struggling with depression
In 2016, Rose opened up on Instagram about her long battle with depression.
"The real kind of hitting the nail on the head and going this is a problem, was when
I really just was questioning why I was living"
She reflected on a tweet she wrote three years prior as she was being hospitalized to treat
her illness, recalling,
"I had hit a rock bottom.
I couldn't find happiness anywhere.
[…] I thought I had failed at being a human being."
Rose hoped her public reflection would inspire others to seek help.
She tweeted: "Sending love and light to everyone who feels down right now, in a funk..
Alone..
Not worthy..
We ALL deserve to be here.
You are worthy."
"Just hang in there, like one day at a time, and it does get better and I know that's cliche,
but it just does"
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).