One of our fave OITNB ladies just got named GQ Woman of the Year

The world collectively fell in love with Australian actress Ruby Rose somewhere around the one-minute mark of her performance in season three of Orange is the New Black. She’s fierce, she’s funny, and let’s be real, she has the face of an angel. An AVENGING angel, but nevertheless, a total angel. And this week, Ruby was honored as GQ Woman of the Year in Sydney, Australia.

When accepting the award – the sole trophy that goes to a woman at the GQ Men of the Year Awards – Ruby gave a shout-out to her homeland, crediting her upbringing for the ability to live her truest life. “What Sydney and Australia taught be was to be fearless and to be true to myself,” she said. “And not every woman, not every human in the world, gets to do that, gets to be that. And I do, and I get celebrated for it. I guess what I really want is that for everybody.”

She then became emotional and dedicated her award to a friend whose mother recently passed away from brain cancer. Looking out to her friend in the audience, she choked back tears and said, “That to me is a strong woman. Never did she say, ‘Why me?’ Never did she complain. And literally, she was my rock through this last year.” Oh the feels. The beautiful feels.
After her speech, Ruby spoke to an interviewer about her experience moving away from her home in Australia. Instead of talking about herself or the industry (not that there’s anything wrong with that!), she turned the subject to a larger issue: same sex marriage. Because same sex marriage is not yet legal in Australia, Ruby Rose can’t marry her fiancé in her native country.

Watch her full speech and interview below:

(Image via GQ/Instagram.)