Rachael Blake

Blake was born in Perth, Western Australia. At the age of 18 months, she moved to England with her English parents, only to return to Perth at age 11. Blake was born deaf in one ear, a condition that was rectified by a series of operations undertaken before she was six. To overcome shyness and her hearing problem, her mother enrolled her in elocution lessons, which she continued until age 17. After attending the John Curtin College of the Arts high school in Perth, she applied to Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) but was rejected due to her age of 17. She was accepted to NIDA when she was 19. At 13, Blake was cast in a short film. After studying at NIDA, she worked on Australian television shows Home and Away as Mandy Thomas (1995–1997), Pacific Drive, and Heartbreak High (1996). Blake's first feature film role was as Amy in the Australian children's movie Paws (1997). In 1997, she took the role of Dr Maxine Summers in the ABC crime drama Wildside. She has also starred in several films, including 2001's Lantana with Anthony LaPaglia, as well as 2003's Perfect Strangers for which she won the Fantasporto Award for Best Actress. Between 2006–2007, she played Hilary Davenport in the British satirical black comedy Suburban Shootout. She played "Belinda" in a British TV movie, Clapham Junction, in 2007. In 2009, she starred in the UKTV mini-series False Witness. She also played a main role in The Prisoner. In 2010, she portrayed Hazel Hawke in the telemovie Hawke. Blake played the character of Clara in the erotic drama Sleeping Beauty. In 2012, Blake portrayed Kris Perry in the theatre production of 8 in Sydney and Melbourne. In 2013, she portrayed Lady Tuckworth in the HBO Asia series Serangoon Road. She played a main role in the 2014 drama film Melody, for which she has received recognition (see below). She appeared in the 2016 film Gods of Egypt.