Ruthie Ann Miles

Ruthie Ann Miles was a Korean/American actress who wowed audiences on stage and television throughout her prolific career, and was forced to keep a brave face in the wake of unspeakable tragedy. Born in Arizona, Miles was raised by her mother, Esther Wong, a music teacher. They lived in Korea until Miles was two years old, at which point they moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where Miles grew up. After graduating from Kaimuki High School in 2001, Miles attended Southern Oregon University before earning her bachelor's degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University in 2005. From there she moved to New York City, earning her master's at NYU. Miles soon began appearing in a number of off-Broadway productions, including "Two by Two" (2010) and "The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd" (2010), both at the York Theatre, and a two-year stint playing Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q" (2011-2013). Her big break came when she was cast as the iconic Philippine First Lady, Imelda Marcos, in David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's experimental musical "Here Lies Love" (2013). The production ran at The Public Theatre to mostly strong reviews, and Miles won a Theatre World Award and a Lucille Lortel award for her performance. After appearing in national tours of "Sweeney Todd" (2014) and "Annie" (2014), Miles made her film debut in the drama "I Am Michael" (2015). Miles finally made it to Broadway in 2015, when she was cast as Lady Thiang in a revival of "The King and I" (2015). Her performance earned rave reviews, and she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Miles took her first television job the next year, playing Young-Hee Seong, a Korean immigrant and Mary Kay consultant with connections to the KGB, on the fourth season of the Cold War suspense series "The Americans" (FX, 2013-18). On March 5, 2018, Miles and her four-year-old daughter, Abigail, were struck by a car that had driven through a red light near their home in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. While Miles suffered a few injuries, her daughter was tragically killed. Miraculously, Miles was pregnant with her and husband Jonathan Blumenstein's second child at the time, and the unborn baby died two months later.