Rachel Shelley

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Rachel Shelley
Born (1969-08-25) 25 August 1969 (age 54)
Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Occupation(s)Actress, model
Years active1994–present
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
PartnerMatthew Parkhill (1995–present)
Children1

Rachel Shelley (born 25 August 1969) is an English actress, audio producer and model. She is best known for playing Helena Peabody in the Showtime series The L Word and Elizabeth Russell in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood epic Lagaan .

Contents

Early life

Rachel Irene Shelley was born on 25 August 1969 in Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom, and was brought up primarily in Cambridgeshire. She is the youngest of four children, she has an older sister and two older brothers. Shelley spent three years in Malta as a child before attending school in Huntingdon. After graduating from the University of Sheffield with a B.A. Hons in English and Drama in 1992, she joined a local theatre company in Edinburgh and set up a community theatre company in Sheffield before moving to London to further her acting career. [1] [2] [3]

Career

Shelley is perhaps best known for playing Helena Peabody in the Showtime series The L Word . Other parts include Elizabeth Russell in the Oscar-nominated Hindi film Lagaan in 2001, and the beauty whose tragic loss drives Charles Castle mad in the 1997 film Photographing Fairies . In 2012 and early 2013, she played the recurring role of Yvonne Rippon, a police superintendent who had a relationship with established character Nick Jordan, in popular BBC medical drama Casualty . Shelley left the series on 19 January 2013. [4]

Apart from acting, Shelley has written articles for The Guardian and DIVA Magazine . [5] [6] [7] [8] Shelley graduated from Goldsmiths University with an MA in Radio Production - she has produced and edited a documentary for BBC Radio 4 and produces the weekly LGBTQIA podcast podDIVA.

Personal life

Shelley lives in Notting Hill, London, with her partner since 1995, Matthew Parkhill, who is a TV writer, director and producer. They have a daughter named Eden, born 8 September 2009. [9] [10]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1994Broken HeartIsabelShort film
1997 Photographing Fairies Mrs. Anne-Marie Castle
1999B.U.S.T.E.DClare
1999 Lighthouse Dr. Kirsty McCloud
2000Canone inverso - making loveJeno's Mother
2000 The Calling Shelly Woodcock
2001 Lagaan Elizabeth RussellHindi Film
2003 The Bone Snatcher Mikki
2004 Seeing Other People Lauren
2006 Gray Matters Julia Barlett
2008 The Children Chloe
2022 Blank Claire Rivers

Television

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1994RoyceAlana MaxwellTV film
1997 The New Adventures of Robin Hood BoadiceaEpisode: "Heroes"
Episode: "The Birthday Trap"
1997 Wycliffe SarahEpisode: "Dance of the Scorpions"
1997 Bugs Jenna SpinksEpisode: "Renegades"
1997 Highlander: The Series Sophie BainesEpisode: "Avatar"
1998 The Bill Maggie HamiltonEpisode: "For Your Love"
2001 Baddiel's Syndrome MarciaEpisode: "Huffa"
Episode: "Hair Today"
2001 Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story HarmoniaTV film
2002 Heartbeat Sue Dixon, aka Denise HurleyEpisode: "Sympathy for the Devil"
2002 The American Embassy MandyEpisode: "Long Live the King"
2002 Coupling SamanthaEpisode: "Remember This"
2002 Cruise of the Gods YasminaTV film
2002The Dinosaur HuntersMary MantellTV film
2003 Sparkling Cyanide Rosemary BartonTV film
2003 Miss Match Rebecca HanleyEpisode: "Something Nervy"
2004 Licensed by Royalty Linda KubrickTV series
2005–2009 The L Word Helena Peabody54 episodes
2006 Ghost Whisperer Kate Payne (uncredited)Episode: "Cat's Claw"
2007 Ghost Whisperer Kate PayneEpisode: "Speed Demon"
Episode: "The Collector"
2008UnderDet. UnderhillTV film
2008 Ghost Whisperer Kate PayneEpisode: "Deadbeat Dads"
2011 Episodes KendraEpisode: "Four"
2011 Strike Back MaggieEpisode: "Project Dawn No. 5"
Episode: "Project Dawn No. 6"
2012–2013 Casualty Supt Yvonne RipponRecurring, 2012–2013
2012–2016 Once Upon a Time MilahEpisode: "The Crocodile"
Episode: "Manhattan"
Episode: "Devil's Due"
2013 Toast of London Commander Scott-GorhamEpisode: "Submission"
2013–2014 Rogue Shelley MorrisonRecurring
2014 Grantchester Pamela MortonEpisode: "Episode 1"
2017–2018Different for GirlsBrookeRecurring
2018–2019 Deep State Elliot TaylorRecurring
2023 Kohrra Clara MurphyIndian TV series on Netflix

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References

  1. ↑ "IMDb Profile". IMDb .
  2. ↑ Rachel Shelley Online : Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Rachel Shelley Online: Ask Rachel Archived 14 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Casualty (series 27)
  5. ↑ Shelley, Rachel (11 May 2001). "The making of Bollywood's biggest movie ever". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Shelley, Rachel (5 April 2002). "We love your accent. Can you do American?". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "Further adventures in showbusiness". The Guardian. 9 June 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Rachel Shelley in Casualty / DIVA Magazine Lesbian Arts & Entertainment / www.divamag.co.uk". divamag.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Exclusive interview with Matthew Parkhill, director of The Caller". AllStephenMoyer.com. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Rachel Shelley – Biography". IMDb.


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