Rutina Wesley

Rutina Wesley is a lesbian actress who came out publicly in 2017 when she announced her engagement to chef Shonda at the Food Network and Wine and Food Festival — an announcement that quickly became public through social media. Wesley had been married to a man previously and spoke about her coming-out as a process of honest self-reckoning and liberation. She is best known for playing Tara Thornton, one of the earliest and most prominent Black female characters in HBO's vampire drama "True Blood" (2008–2014) — a complex, fierce woman whose arc evolved dramatically over seven seasons. She went on to star as Nova Bordelon, the journalist and activist at the center of OWN's multigenerational family drama "Queen Sugar" (2016–2022), a role that demanded extraordinary emotional range and earned her significant critical praise. Wesley has spoken about the importance of Black lesbian representation in television and about living authentically after years of suppressing her identity. Her other credits include "Lincoln" (2012), "Hannibal," and "How to Get Away with Murder."