Ruth Negga is very much part of the awards season conversation this year thanks to her powerful performance in Passing, the impressive directorial debut from Rebecca Hall (more on this movie later). To toast her success, we're taking a look back at eight of the Ethiopian-Irish actress' most memorable roles to date. 
1. Isolation (2005)
Negga made an early splash in this stylish Irish horror flick about something creepy going on in the countryside. She plays Mary, a traveler who bears the brunt of a scientist's highly questionable experiments on the local cattle population. Negga earned an Irish Film and Television Award (IFTA) nomination for her performance – the first of her seven to date – marking herself out as a "one to watch."2. Shirley (2011)
Negga plays the great Dame Shirley Bassey – the iconic "voice of Bond" – in this enjoyable BBC TV movie. It's a smart biopic that charts how Bassey – a mixed race woman from a working class Cardiff neighborhood – overcame racial prejudice and early professional setbacks to become one of pop's most distinctive divas. Negga deservedly won an IFTA for her poised performance.3. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-2018)
Negga appears in 17 episode of the popular Marvel series as Raina, a recruiter for Project Centipede, a secretive organization with terrorist links. Raina isn't as innocent as she initially seems – and undergoes quite a physical transformation in her second season – which gives Negga a chance to show off her range.4. Preacher (2015-2019)
Negga illuminates all four seasons of AMC's hit supernatural series as Tulip O'Hare, a woman of fascinating contradictions. Though she's an exceptionally gifted markswoman, she hates guns on a fundamental level; and though she's had a pretty rough time of it (her mother died in childbirth), she retains a real lust for life. Negga also served as an executive producer on the series, which co-starred Dominic Cooper, her close friend and former partner.5. Iona (2015)
Negga stars opposite Shetland's Douglas Henshall in this underrated indie movie. She plays the titular Iona – a woman named after the Scottish island where she grew up – who returns there with her young son (Ben Gallagher) to a somewhat frosty welcome from the locals. It's a subtle, self-contained film filled with strong performances and stunning Scottish scenery.6. Loving (2016)
This incredibly poignant film tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, the couple whose 1967 case compelled the Supreme Court to overrule state laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Negga earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her terrific, empathetic performance as Mildred, a reluctant activist whose love for husband Richard (Joel Edgerton) catalyzed a seismic moment in the American civil rights movement. 7. Ad Astra (2019)
Brad Pitt stars in this superior sci-fi movie as an astronaut who ventures into space in pursuit of his lost father (Tommy Lee Jones), a fellow astronaut who went missing while overseeing the mysterious "Lima Project." Negga co-stars as Helen Lantos, a space officer based on Mars who also has a close connection to the Lima Project. She's in striking form as a sharp, steely woman whose true motives aren't immediately obvious.8. Passing (2021)
Having earned Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for her performance in Passing, Negga seems on course for another Oscar nod. She plays Clare, a light-skinned African-American woman "passing" as white in 1920s New York – even to her abhorrent racist husband (Alexander Skarsgård). When she reconnects with childhood friend Irene (Tessa Thompson), who is also able to "pass" as white, but doesn't choose to do so, Clare begins to question her identity and pine for her former life. It's haunting and thought-provoking stuff.
Have we missed out a Ruth Negga performance that you particularly enjoyed?