Personal life

Rachel Leigh Blakely was born on 28 July 1968 in Borneo. Her father, Harold Blakely, is an American, and her mother was Australian. Due to her father's oil business, the family, including younger sister Ruth, moved to several countries over the years until settling on an Australian farm when Blakely was twelve.

Before she became an actress, Blakely worked as a nightclub bouncer, a model and a short order cook; it was her ex-husband's suggestion that she audition for a role on Neighbours.

In her spare time, Blakely enjoys camping, sewing, painting, cooking and sleeping. Her favourite authors are Margaret Atwood and Tracy Chevalier, and her favourite movies are Queen Margot and Breaking the Waves.

Blakely married fellow actor Peter Craig in 1990, but they divorced some years later. She met her current partner, stuntman Sean Rigby, on the set of Tales of the South Seas. Their first child, Cooper Lee Rigby, was born in September 2003, and their second child, Nash Rigby, was born in early 2009.

Blakely splits her time between Australia and Los Angeles. She possesses dual American-Australian citizenship.

Career

Blakely was a successful model, before she was spotted by the Neighbours casting director and asked to audition for the role of Gaby Willis. Blakely was introduced to the show as Gaby in August 1991. In October 1993, David Brown of TV Week reported Blakely would be leaving Neighbours. She filmed her final scenes the following month. Blakely later reprised her role of Gaby for Neighbours' 20th anniversary episode broadcast in July 2005.

Blakely then moved into films - mostly made for television - and guest appearances on well-known television shows. The actress has also been part of the leading cast on several programs, including Blue Heelers, City Life and The Lost World. She also joined the cast of Mortified, playing Glenda Fry. In 2000, Blakely appeared in four episodes of Search Party and five episodes of Hollywood Squares, as herself.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Love Until	Madeline
1997	Mr. Nice Guy	Sandy
1998	Young Hercules	Alcmene	Video
2010	Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, TheThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader	Gael's Mum

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991-1994	Neighbours	Gaby Willis	Main role
1993	Feds: Deception, TheThe Feds: Deception	Victoria Payne	TV film
1995-1997	Blue Heelers	Gina Belfanti	Recurring role
1996-1997	City Life	Siobhan O'Halloran	Recurring role
1997	One Way Ticket	Deborah Carter	TV film
1997	Xena: Warrior Princess	Penelope	"Ulysses"
1997	State Coroner	Lisbeth Christi	"Blood Sport"
1997	Flipper	Melisand	"Mermaid Island"
1998-2000	Tales of the South Seas	Isabelle Reed	Main role
1999	Tribe	Lucille Fournier	TV miniseries
1999-2002	The Lost World	Marguerite Krux	Main role
2000	Max Knight: Ultra Spy	Ricki / Claire	TV film
2002	Counterstrike	Brittany Cooper	TV film
2003	Turner Affair, TheThe Turner Affair	Natalie Turner	TV film
2005	Neighbours	Gaby Willis	"Friends for Twenty Years"
2006-2007	Mortified	Glenda Fry	Recurring role
2010	Sea Patrol	Fiona Douglas	"Ransom"
2010	Accord'n to Jordyn	Jordyn's Mum	Unsold TV pilot
2013	Reef Doctors	Megan	"1.9"

[ Source: Wikipedia ]