Rachel Shelley


Rachel Shelley is an English actress 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.

Early life

Rachel Irene Shelley was born on 25 August 1969 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, and was brought up primarily in London. 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.

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 Bollywood 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.
Apart from acting, Shelley has written articles for The Guardian and DIVA Magazine.

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 September 8, 2009.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994Broken HeartIsabelShort film
1997Photographing FairiesMrs. Anne-Marie Castle
1999B.U.S.T.E.DClare
1999LighthouseDr. Kirsty McCloud
2000Canone inverso - making loveJeno's Mother
2000'Shelly Woodcock
2001LagaanElizabeth RussellHindi Film
2003'Mikki
2004Seeing Other PeopleLauren
2006Gray MattersJulia Barlett
2008'Chloe

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994RoyceAlana MaxwellTV film
1997'BoadiceaEpisode: "Heroes"
Episode: "The Birthday Trap"
1997WycliffeSarahEpisode: "Dance of the Scorpions"
1997BugsJenna SpinksEpisode: "Renegades"
1997'Sophie BainesEpisode: "Avatar"
1998'Maggie HamiltonEpisode: "For Your Love"
2001Baddiel's SyndromeMarciaEpisode: "Huffa"
Episode: "Hair Today"
2001'HarmoniaTV film
2002HeartbeatSue Dixon, aka Denise HurleyEpisode: "Sympathy for the Devil"
2002'MandyEpisode: "Long Live the King"
2002CouplingSamanthaEpisode: "Remember This"
2002Cruise of the GodsYasminaTV film
2002'Mary MantellTV film
2003Sparkling CyanideRosemary BartonTV film
2003Miss MatchRebecca HanleyEpisode: "Something Nervy"
2004Licensed by RoyaltyLinda KubrickTV series
2005-2009'Helena Peabody54 episodes
2006Ghost WhispererKate Payne Episode: "Cat's Claw"
2007Ghost WhispererKate PayneEpisode: "Speed Demon"
Episode: "The Collector"
2008UnderDet. UnderhillTV film
2008Ghost WhispererKate PayneEpisode: "Deadbeat Dads"
2011EpisodesKendraEpisode: "Four"
2011Strike BackMaggieEpisode: "Project Dawn No. 5"
Episode: "Project Dawn No. 6"
2012-2013CasualtySupt Yvonne RipponRecurring, 2012-2013
2012-2016Once Upon a TimeMilahEpisode: "The Crocodile"
Episode: "Manhattan"
Episode: "Devil's Due"
2013Toast of LondonCommander Scott-GorhamEpisode: "Submission"
2013-2014RogueShelley MorrisonRecurring
2014GrantchesterPamela MortonEpisode: "Episode 1"
2017-2018Different for GirlsBrookeRecurring
2018-2019Deep StateElliot TaylorRecurring