Ruth Brenner is a therapist and close family friend of the main character Nadia in the Netflix show Russian Doll. She plays a significant role by offering guidance, support, and compassion to help Nadia cope with constantly reliving and dying on her birthday over and over again. Ruth remains supportive and understanding while also dealing with her own difficult emotions and past experiences, which help her relate to Nadia.

1. Russian Doll - Elizabeth Ashley's
character Ruth Brenner
Russian Doll tells the story of Nadia, who dies over and over again in
increasingly strange ways, but she always wakes up right before her
death and lives to see another day. The show’s central mystery revolves
around Nadia’s constant reincarnation and her attempts to figure out
why she keeps dying in the first place. It’s a show that defies
explanation, so if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it! As far
as I can tell, there aren’t any major spoilers ahead, so consider this your
warning!

2. How does she relate to the main character?
The therapist and close family friend of Nadia and her mother, Ruth
Brenner, plays a significant role in Russian Doll. Her advice leads to
choices that help Nadia rise above her grief and pursue her life as an
adult, even though she still experiences many instances of sadness
throughout. Despite dealing with many difficult emotions herself, Ruth
remains ever-supportive and understanding towards others in a
compassionate way.
How does she help the main character?
Ruth helps Nadia by offering a helping hand in an otherwise dark
situation. She does not treat her like she is crazy, but instead like she has
a mental illness and needs help coping with it. Ruth also asks relevant
questions that allow her to help Nadia cope with her condition. Ruth
Brenner is very different from a therapist in real life because she seems
genuinely interested in helping Nadia recover from her death
experience. She guides Nadia through stages of grief and is genuinely
concerned about what has happened to her patient.
What are some qualities that make her unique?
When Nadia was growing up, Ruth played a significant role in her life.
She was a trusted therapist, and became a close family friend for Nadia
and her mother. Ruth is an older woman who has been through some
difficult times. As we learn about Ruth’s past, we begin to understand
why she is so good at helping others work through their problems: she’s
been there herself. This also makes it easy for Ruth to relate to Nadia
when she first comes to see her as an adult; they have things in common
that other therapists might not be able to relate to.
What purpose does she serve?

3. Ruth Brenner was a consistent presence in Nadia’s life. As a therapist
and close family friend, she is able to assist Nadia as she goes through
her struggles with pregnancy loss, aging and death. She listens to her
fears, patiently responds to her frustrations and grows along with her
patient. Ruth cares for Nadia in ways that other characters are unable or
unwilling to support her.
Other actors/characters like this one...
So, you’ve finally caught up with Russian Doll on Netflix and have asked
yourself, Who is that in Russian Doll? What other shows or movies have I
seen her in? Is she an actress or a writer? If so, where can I find her work
online? You may not know who a lot of the actors are if you don’t pay
much attention to television. Luckily for you, we decided to do some
research.
The dynamic between Nadia and Ruth
The show is loaded with incredibly complex characters, but one of its
most interesting relationships is that between Nadia and her therapist
Ruth. Nadia begins to reconnect with Ruth in Season 2 when she returns
to New York City for a funeral; their relationship has always been close,
but it becomes even more so after Nadia's husband dies and her life
starts to unravel. There are some major differences between them —
age, race, culture — which keeps things fresh and tense.
What does Ruth Brenner think about Sophia?
Sophia is her client, a young mother suffering from anxiety and
postpartum depression. Ruth suspects that Sophia might be clinically
depressed. She’s constantly expressing guilt over something she did with
her son, Max, but won’t talk about it. This ends up affecting how she
treats him—she’s often irritable and short-tempered with him. There
are also times when she’ll simply stop what she’s doing to stare off into
space for no apparent reason at all.

4. Who is this middle-aged woman?
If you’ve watched Russian Doll , you know that Elizabeth Ashley is
fantastic. She plays a therapist and close family friend of Nadia and her
mother, Zenia (played by Gretchen Mol). This therapist serves as a guide
for Nadia as she tries to figure out what happened over and over again
on New Year’s Eve.
How old are they really?
Age is just a number, right? Wrong. It’s actually one of your biggest
healthcare concerns when it comes to living with cancer. In Russian Doll
, you witness both young and old women face up to their own mortality.
Cancer affects us all at different stages in our lives, but how do we
reconcile that with what we believe about ourselves?
Where is the car crash scene from?
Nadia crashes her car at a traffic light into Mikhail’s car, played by Mike
Doyle. This is an important part of establishing her relationship with him
and showing how she moves on. The crash scene is midway through
episode 3. In it, Nadia blames herself for drinking before driving and we
see how much she drinks to cope with her family and personal issues.
She also acknowledges that if she had not been drinking she would have
been more attentive behind the wheel, causing less damage to Mikhail’s
vehicle.
Who is ruthie russian doll?

5. In Netflix’s hit show Russian Doll, we are introduced to Nadia Vulvokov
(Dasha Nekrasova), a woman who keeps dying over and over again. She
is currently in therapy with her therapist, Ruth Brenner (Elizabeth
Ashley). The show revolves around Nadia’s near death experiences that
eventually lead her to meet three different versions of herself
throughout time. And although every version of Nadia has different
qualities about them, what stays consistent is their love for one another.
Who plays Nora in Russian Doll?
If you've watched Russian Doll, chances are you've seen Elizabeth Ashley
in it. The 80-year-old actress plays therapist and close family friend of
Nadia and her mother. While she appears a bit eccentric, she is actually
quite perceptive. She knows more about her patient than she lets on,
but never truly stands out until now. Her name is Ruth Brenner; here’s
everything we know about her in Russian Doll so far.
Who is Ruth brenner?
A therapist and close family friend of Nadia and her mother. She is
Russian-American, in her mid-fifties, with long dark hair and a youthful
face. She is at least partially responsible for pulling Alex out of his spiral
of self-pity.
Who plays Nadia's mom in Russian Doll?

6. The actress, who played Nadia’s mom in Russian Doll, is Elizabeth Ashley.
The way she plays her mother makes us feel that she has definitely lost a
part of herself after having all these kids. Her character reminds me of
my own mother because they both have that strong, yet affectionate
and loving relationship with their children. They both go through lots of
struggles together as a family but their love for each other always brings
them back together at the end.