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Many know Daniela Ruah as Field Agent Kensi Blye on NCIS: Los Angeles. The Portuguese actress has played the character since its 2009 creation. Fans likely noticed one of Ruahs unique eyes while watching. Heres what the star wants viewers to know about a condition she embraces.

If you look close enough at Daniela Ruahs eyes, youll notice one is darker than the other. The condition is relative to a blemish on the eye.

It happened when I was a kid. You know how Barbies have the little plastic hands? One of them stuck in my eye when I was sleeping, she joked to Esquire in 2011. She eventually came clean.

Its a birthmark called nevus of Ota. It covers the whole white of my eye and darkens it. The square of the eye, the white part, is completely dark on my right eye, not just the iris, she said.

Its very common in Asian people but quite rare in Caucasians. It doesnt affect my vision or anything like that.

Those affected by nevus of Ota are clinically described as having,increased amounts of melanin (pigment) and melanin-producing cells (melanocytes) in and around their eyes, according to the New York Eye Cancer Center.

Those with the condition are at a greater risk of developing an eye cancer and it affects more women than men. However, the birthmark doesnt seem to affect Ruahs eyesight.

The short answer is no. Ruah was born in America but moved to Portugal when she was five. She landed her first acting role at 16 and moved to London, England at 18 where she attended the Performing Arts at the London Metropolitan University. She graduated with honors, according to IMDb.

By 2007 two years shy of becoming a part of the NCIS franchise Ruah made the move to New York City where she studied at the Lee StrasbergTheatre and Film Institute.

From there, the roles came along. From Guiding Light to Red Tails, Ruah is one of the only actors to appear as the same character in two different NCIS iterations and also in Hawaii Five-0.

The actress even competed in Portugals 2006-2007 version of Americas Dancing With the Stars. The show is Danca Comigo, and Ruah won proving nevus of Ota cant hold her back.

It starts the conversation, if anything. But I dont think its ever gotten me a job or lost me a job, she said.

However, there have been times adjustments have to be made on set to get the right shot.

When were shooting, sometimes they need to light my eye in a slightly different way, she explained. Otherwise, it looks like theres a big shadow over it.

If you want to stay on Ruahs good side, theres one thing to never, ever do, and its in regards to her distinctive eye. Dont use Photoshop to edit out the dark of her eye.

It drives me crazy. This is my eye, my little trademark, she said, owning who she is with zero apologies. Were here for it.

Read more:
'NCIS: Los Angeles': The 1 Thing Daniela Ruah Wants You to Know About Her Eye Condition - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

This entry was posted on February 8, 2020 at 9:45 pm and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |