Rachael May Taylor (born 11 July 1984) is an Australian actress and model. Her first lead role was in the Australian television series headLand (2005–2006) as Sasha Forbes. She then made the transition to Hollywood, appearing in films including Man-Thing (2005), See No Evil (2006), Transformers (2007), Bottle Shock (2008), Shutter (2008), Cedar Boys (2009), Splinterheads (2009), Red Dog (2011), The Darkest Hour (2011) and Any Questions for Ben? (2012).
Rachael Taylor | |
|---|---|
 Taylor at the AACTA Awards in 2012 | |
| Born | Rachael May Taylor 11 July 1984 Launceston, Tasmania, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, model |
| Years active | 2004–present |
She has also starred as Dr. Lucy Fields on Grey's Anatomy, as one of the Angels on the short-lived reboot Charlie's Angels (both 2011), as the main character on the ABC show 666 Park Avenue (2012–2013), and in the NBC action/thriller series Crisis (2014).
She starred in Marvel's Netflix streaming superhero television shows Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Luke Cage (2016), and The Defenders (2017) as Trish Walker.
Early life
editTaylor was born on 11 July 1984 in Launceston, Tasmania, the daughter of Christine and Nigel Taylor.[1][2] She attended Riverside High School and Trevallyn Primary School. Taylor had wanted to be an actress since she was a child. Her childhood was filled with modelling and beauty pageants before she ventured into acting. She graduated from Riverside High School in 2000.[3]
Career
editTaylor modelled for Skye-Jilly International and competed successfully in the state finals of Miss Teen Tasmania 1998. She has appeared in a number of American productions – such as television movies about Natalie Wood and the making of Dynasty (where she played Catherine Oxenberg),[4] and the horror movies Man-Thing and See No Evil.
Taylor played Sasha Forbes on the short-lived Australian drama series headLand. On 3 April 2006, she was nominated for a Logie Award for Most Popular New Female Talent for her role on headLand.
Her most prominent role to date was as Maggie Madsen, a signals analyst, in the 2007 Transformers, where she appeared alongside Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf. Taylor confirmed that she would not be returning for the Transformers sequel.[5] In 2008, Taylor scored a starring role in the US horror-thriller Shutter, a remake of the 2004 Thai film of the same name opposite Joshua Jackson.[6] Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box-office success.[7]
In 2009, she completed the Australian feature Cedar Boys and starred in the comedy Splinterheads. In 2010, she starred alongside Alex Dimitriades in the Australian romantic drama Summer Coda.[8] She has also signed to the HBO comedy series Washingtonienne and Melt, an Australian production. Taylor began a recurring role on Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Lucy Fields, an obstetrician and maternal-fetal fellow.[9][10][11]
In 2011, Taylor joined the cast of the short-lived remake of the television series Charlie's Angels.[12][13] Also in 2011, she had a major role in the film Red Dog and starred in the Russian science-fiction thriller film The Darkest Hour, directed by filmmaker Chris Gorak.[14]
Taylor had a key supporting role in the 2012 Australian comedy Any Questions for Ben?, created by Working Dog Productions.[15] Although the film performed disappointingly at the box-office and received lukewarm reviews, Taylor was praised for her role. Leigh Paatsch in the Herald-Sun wrote "Taylor exudes a warmth and assurance (in her performance). It is a shame she is missing in action for lengthy spells in the picture."[16]
From 2012 to 2013, Taylor starred in the new drama 666 Park Avenue.[17] She was next cast in the 2014 NBC series Crisis, which ran for one season.[18] In 2015, Taylor starred in Jessica Jones as the titular character's best friend Trish Walker. She would go on to reprise the role in a voiceover cameo in Luke Cage in 2016, in The Defenders in 2017, a second season of Jessica Jones in 2018, and the series' final season in 2019.[19]
In 2014, Taylor played a supporting role in the thriller The Loft, a remake of the 2008 original, alongside fellow Australian Isabel Lucas.[20][21] In 2016, Taylor portrayed the character Rachel Hill in the crime drama film Gold.[22][23] In 2018, Taylor appeared in the Australian comedy-drama film Ladies in Black.[24]
In 2019, Taylor appeared in Finding Steve McQueen as Molly Murphy, where she starred alongside Travis Fimmel, Forest Whitaker, and William Fichtner.[25]
In March 2023, it was rumoured Taylor would be joining Paul Thomas Anderson's next currently untitled film. This marks her first acting role in 4 years. She also returned to her Instagram having not updated again in 4 years.[26]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Man-Thing | Teri Elizabeth Richards | |
| 2006 | See No Evil | Zoe Warner | |
| 2007 | Transformers | Maggie Madsen | |
| 2008 | Shutter | Jane | |
| 2008 | Bottle Shock | Sam Fulton | |
| 2008 | Deception | Woman in Hallway | |
| 2009 | Cedar Boys | Amie | |
| 2009 | Splinterheads | Galaxy | |
| 2009 | Ghost Machine | Jess | |
| 2010 | Providence Park | Bicycle Girl | Short film |
| 2010 | Summer Coda | Heidi | |
| 2011 | Red Dog | Nancy Grey | |
| 2011 | The Darkest Hour | Anne | |
| 2012 | Any Questions for Ben? | Alex | |
| 2014 | The Loft | Anne Morris | |
| 2016 | ARQ | Hannah | |
| 2016 | Gold | Rachel Hill | |
| 2016 | Wig Shop | Lili | Short film |
| 2018 | White Orchid | Jessica | |
| 2018 | Ladies in Black | Fay | |
| 2019 | Finding Steve McQueen | Molly Murphy |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Mystery of Natalie Wood | Maryann Marinkovich | TV film |
| 2005 | Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure | Catherine Oxenberg | TV film |
| 2005 | Hercules | Nemean Lion / Sphinx | TV miniseries |
| 2005 | McLeod's Daughters | Natalie Louise Brown | Episode: "Old Flames" |
| 2005–2006 | headLand | Sasha Forbes | Main role |
| 2009 | Washingtonienne | Jackie | Unsold TV pilot |
| 2011 | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Lucy Fields | Recurring role, 8 episodes |
| 2011 | Charlie's Angels | Abigail "Abby" Simpson | Main role |
| 2012–2013 | 666 Park Avenue | Jane Van Veen | Main role |
| 2014 | Crisis | Agent Susie Dunn | Main role |
| 2015–2019 | Jessica Jones | Patricia "Trish" Walker | Main role |
| 2016 | Luke Cage | Episode: "Suckas Need Bodyguards" Voiceover cameo | |
| 2017 | The Defenders | Mini-series Main role, 4 episodes | |
| 2017 | House of Bond | Diana Bliss | TV miniseries |
| 2024 | Hacks | Alexis | Episode: "Just for Laughs" |
References
edit- ^ Hills, Brenden (10 September 2010). "We're shattered by Rachael's bashing, say Nigel and Christine Taylor". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^ Devlyn, Darren (16 October 2012). "Taylor made for a horror success". news.com.au.
- ^ "Our Hollywood transformation". The Mercury. 29 April 2007. Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
- ^ "Dynasty: Dynasty: Behind the Scenes (Seite 1 von 34)". Der-Denver-Clan. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
- ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (19 August 2008). "Rachel Taylor ... Not In 'Transformers 2,' And Proud Of It". MTV. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
- ^ Biodrowski, Steve (19 March 2008). "Interview: Rachael Taylor on Shutter". Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ Kasch, Andrew (21 March 2008). "Shutter (2008)". Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ Paatsch, Leigh (21 October 2010). "Summer Coda movie review". Herald Sun. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ Miska, Brad (14 May 2010). "Transformers Hottie Joins Alien Invasion at The Darkest Hour". Bloody Disgusting.
- ^ "Transformers Actress Scrubs into Grey's Anatomy". TV Guide. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
- ^ "Rachael Taylor Joins Grey's Anatomy". TV Guide. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- ^ "Minka Kelly and Rachael Taylor Close to Angel Gigs in ABC's Charlie's Angels". Deadline Hollywood. 27 January 2011.
- ^ "Goodbye girls! ABC cancels Charlie's Angels". Entertainment Weekly. 14 October 2011. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012.
- ^ Two More Sign on for The Darkest Hour – dreadcentral.com
- ^ Schembri, Jim (9 February 2012). "Any Questions for Ben?". The Age. Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ Paatch, Leigh (9 February 2012). "Movie review: Any Questions for Ben?". heraldsun.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ Ng, Philiana (7 October 2012). "'666 Park Avenue's' Rachael Taylor: Jane Will Be a 'Totally Changed,' 'Unrecognizable' Woman". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (25 February 2013). "Gillian Anderson, Rachael Taylor to Star in NBC's Rand Ravich Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (29 January 2015). "Marvel's Jessica Jones Enlists Grey's Anatomy Alum". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ Staff, T. H. R. (30 January 2015). "'The Loft': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
- ^ "Aussie beauties Rachael Taylor and Isabel Lucas have their latest film abruptly pulled from release". The Sunday Telegraph. 28 June 2014.
- ^ Linden, Sheri (30 December 2016). "'Gold': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
- ^ Falkenstein, Glen (3 February 2017). "Film review: Gold". The Big Smoke. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
- ^ "Ladies in Black (2018)". Screen Australia. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- ^ Anderson, Ariston (29 September 2016). "Rachael Taylor to Replace Kate Bosworth in Heist Film 'Finding Steve McQueen' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
- ^ "Viggo Mortensen and Rachael Taylor Reportedly Join the Cast of Paul Thomas Anderson's Next Film". 17 March 2023.