Named “Cara Nueva” (New Face) in the summer of 2006 by People Magazine (En Espanol), Angie Ruiz recently joined the cast of Daniel Craig starrer, FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL directed by Baillie Walsh. She has been featured at the ALMA Awards hosted by Eva Longoria and was a presenter at the 20th Annual Imagen Awards, hosted by George Lopez. Angie has appeared in films for Lions Gate, Maverick Entertainment, FoxSearchlight, and Miramax including SURF SCHOOL, IN YOUR EYES, BEE SEASON, and 40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS.
Born and raised in Northern California, Angie was introduced to music when she was a toddler. Her father, an engineeer and musician, often played the piano and guitar at home and music became the foundation of "family time". Summers were spent in Los Angeles with members of her large extended family. During this time, she was exposed to a wide array of music, art and culture that caused her to develope several creative interests. However, she was most influenced by her aunt who traveled the world as a fashion designer. Angie appeared in Women's Wear Daily along side her aunt when she was sixteen. With her sight set on a career in the fashion business, Angie studied business and international relations at Cal Poly University in San Luis Obispo. After graduation, she moved to San Francisco where her interests shifted to performance art and she began studying theatre. She honed her theatrical skills abroad at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London and appeared on stage in Richard 11 at the Vanbrugh Theatre.
In 2004, Angie moved to Los Angeles and landed her first starring role opposite television star Michael De Lorenzo in the Maverick Entertainment dramatic feature IN YOUR EYES, a film that explores the complexity of interracial relationships. She was director Trae Brier’s first choice after seeing hundreds of Latina actresses for the role of CeCe Espinoza. IN YOUR EYES premiered at the 2004 Santa Barbara Film Festival to a sold-out audience and screened in various festivals around the world.
In addition to her film career, Angie is a devoted humanitarian. She began volunteering in college for such programs as The Special Olympics and continued in San Francisco with Meals on Wheels.
In 2004, she volunteered with WAMATA, a non-government organization that raises HIV/AIDS awareness with their drama group that performs stage plays and songs among villages with high illiteracy rates in northern Tanzania. This led her to create a grassroots, community based project called Center For Good Destiny that provides educational services to disadvantaged individuals who lost out on educational opportunities earlier in life. It is the first program of its kind in Tanzania that is offering a GED equivalent for adults aged 18-45 who were too impoverished to afford a traditional secondary education. She is also assisting the Maasai of Tanzania with an organization called Kitumusote (www.kitumusote.org). She teamed up with a Maasai tribesman named Kesuma Kasikasi to form Kitumusote, an organization that aims to provide the Maasai with environmental and educational awareness offering a reforestation program and a women's educational program. Both programs were launched through the foundation that she and her husband created called Wandering Star Foundation. She has been a guest speaker in Washington D.C. and a participant at the United Nations 51st Session on the Status of Women. In addition to visiting Tanzania twice a year, Angie has been the guest of the National Museum's of Kenya and world renowned anthorpologist and Rutger's University professor Dr. Jack Harris to visit Koobi Fora and many of the tribesman who inhabit Northern Kenya. She was also the guest of Professor Robert Blumenshein on a visit to Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. in December of 2006, she travelled to India where she visited several Tiger Habitats to learn more about Tiger conservation.
Angie currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and their two cats and two Rottweilers. She has traveled to over twenty countries and speaks Spanish, conversational French and is learning Swahili. Her Wandering Films production company has plans to produce a documentary on the inspirational stories of the Women of East Africa.