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Actor, Cameo & Crew Profiles > Actor Profiles > Rachel Blakely

Rachel Leigh Blakely was born in Borneo in July 1968. The daughter of an American father and an Australian mother, due to her fathers’ career in the oil industry, Rachel lived in various different countries before the family settled in Australia in 1980, after the death of her mother, when Rachel was twelve years old. Rachel holds duel Australian and American nationality.

Prior to joining the cast of Neighbours, Rachel worked as a nightclub bouncer and model. She initially found fame when she won a women’s magazine cover competition and she made her TV screen debut when she was cast in a Nissan commercial.

Rachel was spotted by the Neighbours casting director and invited to audition for the role of Gaby Willis, going on to join the show in 1991. She played the character of Gaby for three years, returning in 2005 for the 20th anniversary episode.

After leaving Neighbours, Rachel’s career in acting continued with roles in both films and television. Some of her best known television roles include the character Gina Belfanti in Blue Heelers; Siobhan O’Halloran in City Life; Marguerite Krux in The Lost World; Isabelle Reed in Tales of the South Seas; Melisand in Flipper and Penelope in Xena Warrior Princess. Film credits include roles in the Jackie Chan film A Nice Guy, Love Until and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Most recently, she has made guest appearances in the Australian drama series Sea Patrol and Reef Doctors.

Rachel married actor Peter Craig (who himself had a Neighbours guest role in the 1980s) in 1990, but they later divorced. On the set of Tales of the South Seas, Rachel met stuntman Sean Rigby, who she married in 1997. The couple have two sons; Cooper Lee, born in 2003, and Nash Rigby, born in 2009.

In her spare time, Rachel is quoted as saying that she enjoys camping, sewing, cooking and sleeping!

Profile by Debbie