Rutina Wesley of ‘Queen Sugar’ was pretty much born to be a star

She is Juilliard-trained

Though a majority of Wesley’s talent is undoubtedly God-given, she also put in the blood, sweat and tears to train herself at Juilliard.

She was born to perform

Wesley grew up in Las Vegas, where her mother was a showgirl and her father was a professional dancer, so performing is definitely in her blood.

“Both of my parents were dancers, so I grew up in the business,” Wesley said in a Q&A with Juilliard. “When I got to high school, I got to major in both theater and dance. I love playing characters and telling stories and moving audiences. I decided to go to college and focus on acting because you sort of can’t do both. My dad was like, ‘Well don’t forget about your feet!’ ’cause he’s a tap dancer… but I was really excited about acting. It was that performing arts high school that made me into the actor that I am.”

She’s always been a dreamer

“Tbt…..that one moment in black and white…..#neverforgetthelittleyou the one with dreams….,” she captioned this adorable Instagram photo.

Obviously, Wesley had stars in her eyes from the very beginning.

She’s already proven herself on cable TV

There’s a good chance you already know Wesley from her role as Tara Thornton on HBO’s True Blood. Her performance on the show was multi-layered, and arguably one of the most compelling.

“She’s a delicate flower on the inside,” Wesley said of Tara. “She’s a child who’s in seek of validation and attention and love and she doesn’t always know where to get it.”

She has a real-life tie to Lafayette

Tara had a tight-knit relationship with her cousin, Nelsan Ellis’ Lafayette, on True Blood, and Wesley and Ellis had amazing on-screen chemistry.

That could be because they are BFFs in real life. Ellis studied at Juilliard at the same time Wesley did, and they remain close to this day.

She has her sights set high

Wesley is a bona fide thespian, but she’s not above taking on a blockbusting role.

“I would love to do some rom coms, some action flicks,” she told Juilliard. “I don’t have expectations because you have to have patience and know that what is yours is yours and it will come when it’s time, and you have to hold onto that so you don’t get defeated. Each year I look forward to what’s ahead for me and I can’t predict the future, but I know that there’s a lot of things out there that I want and I know that if I’m patient, hopefully, they will come.”

She’s a workout fanatic

It’s obvious from her extremely toned physique that Wesley is all about that fit life.

Whether it’s pilates or taking part in the recent 22 push-up challenge that’s been sweeping social media, Wesley works hard to stay in shape — and it clearly pays off.

She can rock the stage

Wesley is taking the screen by storm, but there’s no doubt that she is a gifted theater performer as well.

She played Terri Scholes in the Broadway production of The Vertical Hour in 2006, and also starred alongside Jonathan Groff and Eddie Kaye Thomas in an off-Broadway production of The Submission in 2011.

She’s intimidated by Nova

Wesley will be the first to tell you that her character on Queen Sugar is intimidating as hell.

“She’s very challenging to me as an actor because she has so many layers,” Wesley said in a recent Queen Sugar promo. “I’m intimidated by Nova, actually, because she is so sharp. I kinda joke and say Nova is like five things that I am, and like 15 things I’ve always wanted to be.”

Ava DuVernay has total faith in her

DuVernay — who is creator, executive producer, writer and director of Queen Sugar — has skyrocketed to superstardom over the past five years or so herself, and she recognizes all of the amazing qualities that Wesley has.

“She’s stunning to look at and really embodies all the beauty of the role… She brings such a depth and a soulfulness to this character,” DuVernay said in a recent promo. “I really needed someone who could embody all the contradictory elements of Nova… I think people will really love what she’s doing.”