By Mark Allan Karanja
If you have ever had to struggle with the direction in which your life is going, either personally or professionally then you would understand this dynamic lady’s journey. She started off her professional career in a way that most Kenyans can resonate with- she was stuck in job that she hated. But she did something that many people would never dream of doing. She up and left; she quit her job as an insurance underwriter and never looked back.
She had a passion for performance art. Being a dancer or an actress was something that she had her heart set on. Her dancing career took off, performing in some of the biggest and best stages in the world. Among them being in Doha, Addis Ababa, Kerala in South-west India and regionally in Tanzania and Kenya. Soon she joined the world of acting that admittedly proved to be more of a challenge to her. But with a determination that could move mountains, she landed herself roles in some of the most well-known and beloved television shows like ‘THE TEAM’, award winning soap opera ‘LIES THAT BIND’ and most recently a Kalasha Film and Television award nominee ‘MAMA DUKA’. To VOTE for Ruth as the Best lead actress in a TV Drama CLICK HERE
But there is much more to Ruth Ndulu Maingi than her talent as an extraordinary actress. She is fast becoming the go-to lady when it comes to fashion styling. And not just any styling but styling for television. That is a thought that might not cross most of our minds when it comes to television. When we see beautiful divas on screen in stunning outfits or actors looking dapper, we only think to give credit to those wearing the clothes. But there are brilliant fashion minds behind the creative styles that the actors wear on screen. She is that brilliant mind behind many of our beloved local television programs.
The realization and eventual transformation of what began as a passion to a successful career started rather strangely. “My co-worker, Wanjiku Mbugua, who is the art director in Spielworks media, noticed that I had a keen sense of fashion, and suggested on numerous occasions that I should come on as a stylist for the shows”, Ruth reveals. She adds that she had her doubts, but after a long thinking about it for a long while, she decided to take the plunge.
While still part of the LIES THAT BIND cast playing Salome, she joined the wardrobe department as an intern. And there, as she so playfully likes to put it, “started putting pieces together. There was nothing magical about the colors or the pieces individually, but together, they were spectacular”. This was in the first season of the award winning show. And as fate would have it, she came back as the wardrobe mistress for the second season.
As an actress, she has had the honor of being the main character of a show that scooped an award in the recently concluded AMVCAs, in Nigeria, where she had also been nominated as “Best costume designer” “best show”- an honor that she terms as “a breakthrough in my career. It feels as though I have just begun”.
She has vast experience in the short span of time within which she has been pursuing her passion for fashion. Having styled the talk show ‘LADIES FIRST’ alongside Annabel Onyango, who Ruth recognizes as a great mentor to her, to styling ‘BLOCK D’, another Spielworks production. She is also responsible for the fabulous outfits on new hit shows like SUMU LA PENZI, and yet to air JANE AND ABEL, with a few more new productions like ‘RUSH’ season two, under her belt.
One can easily tell that she has a passion and a dedication to her craft that is rare, and her efforts definitely show. She describes the feeling of doing what she loves as “inexplicable”. “I find pleasure in making the actors look good, making them up or down. It is a rewarding task that I do effortlessly”. Do not confuse her confidence for cockiness; she has the goods to back it up. And even though this dynamic diva is quite comfortable working the camera as an actress, she is quite at home working her magic behind the scenes to bring us beautiful actors.