Rachael Taylor

A former model, Rachael Taylor began acting at the age of 16. Taylor, who hails from a small town in Tasmania, Australia, was living in Sydney at the time and appearing in commercials. Her first on-screen performance came in the two-part made-for-TV movie, "The Mystery of Natalie Wood" (2004), which was filmed in Australia and directed by the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, Peter Bogdanovich. Other film and television roles followed, including a breakout performance in the 2007 blockbuster action movie, "Transformers" (2007), as well as roles on the American television shows "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005- ) and "Jessica Jones" (Netflix, 2015- ). In just under a decade, Rachael Taylor managed to become the most recognizable Tasmanian-born star since the swashbuckling Errol Flynn lit up the big screen more than 70 years ago. While growing up in the town of Launceston, Tasmania, Taylor suffered from a terrible lisp and stutter, which she eventually overcame. By her early teens Taylor had caught the attention of modeling agents, and began competing in the Miss Teen Tasmania and Miss Universe modeling contests. She left Tasmania at the age of 16 and moved to Sydney, where more modeling opportunities were widely available. Soon enough, Taylor began flirting with the idea of becoming a professional actor; she always had a love of acting, performing in school plays during her time in Tasmania, but never pursued the craft in earnest. After landing a few commercial gigs, however, Taylor was cast in a supporting role in Peter Bogdanovich's two-part made-for-TV-movie, "The Mystery of Natalie Wood." More roles followed, including a lead role on the Australian television series, "headLand" (Seven Network, 2005-06). The show, however, was cancelled after a single season. Already a marketable commodity in her native Australia, Taylor still yearned to be recognized on a grander scale. And so, after "headLand's" cancellation, Taylor moved to Los Angeles in 2006 for a shot at Hollywood stardom. As luck would have it, within two weeks of arriving in Hollywood Taylor booked a part in Michael Bay's upcoming action movie, "Transformers." Although Taylor and Bay did not always see eye to eye during the filming of the movie (as a result, Bay did not ask Taylor to reprise her role in the 2009 follow-up), "Transformers" did prove to be her breakout performance. Over the next few years Taylor honed her acting chops in smaller films like "Cedar Boys" (2009) and "Red Dog" (2011), before breaking through for a second time with a recurring role on ABC's popular medical show, "Grey's Anatomy" (2005- ). Taylor also appeared as one of the Angels in the short-lived "Charlie's Angels" (ABC, 2011) remake, which earned her some of the worst reviews of her career. The show was subsequently cancelled after only a few episodes. Unfazed by the negative criticism, Taylor was cast in lead roles in supernatural fantasy series "666 Park Avenue" (ABC 2013-14) and espionage drama "Crisis" (NBC 2014), two more genre attempts that couldn't survive a single season. Taylor finally landed on a hit with her key supporting role on "Jessica Jones" (Netflix 2015- ), based on the Marvel Comics superhero.