How To Be A Bad Ass

You Know and Love Her From Orange Is the New Black. Now Ruby Rose Is Kicking Butt in—count ’em—three New Action-packed Movies. Meet the Stunning Actress Who Is Defying Hollywood’s Stereotypes to Succeed on Her Own Terms. Then Keep Reading for 2017’s Other Totally Baller Babes.

- Laurie Sandell

RUBY ROSE doesn’t know what time it is. “It’s definitely not 10:30 a.m.,” she says, flashing her Dior watch. “That must be from wherever I was last.”

The 30-year-old Aussie is in such high demand lately, she’s barely in one time zone long enough to reset the clock. Today, she’s chatting with me over vegan burgers at L.A. hotspot Crossroads. Tomorrow, she’s off to New York to be on a panel with Gigi Hadid, Lena Dunham, Zoë Kravitz, and Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman for part of Reebok’s #PerfectNever campaign. By the time you read this, she’ll be all over the place promoting her star turns in xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, and John Wick: Chapter 2.

Even among this Hollywood crowd, Ruby is an eye magnet— all sharp cheekbones, blazing light green eyes, and cropped raven hair slicked back just so. Tattoos cover much of her body’s real estate—creeping up her neck and onto her fingers. She’s been compared to Justin Bieber and Angelina Jolie—A-listers as famous for their talent and looks as they are their rebellious streaks. And as some have pointed out, when Angelina’s image was recast as a do-gooding mother and activist, she left a bad-girl void in Hollywood. Until now.

Ruby considers herself gender fluid, meaning she doesn’t conform to male or female constructs. But growing up in Melbourne—long before transgender rights were even at a whisper—she identified as male. “When I realized I was going to develop breasts, I started saving for a sex change,” she says. “I thought I would save five cents a week to turn into a boy. Clearly, I didn’t know how intense the process would be. I was too young to understand the ramifications.”