Rachael Stirling 936509 223944135 2008-07-06T17:06:56Z Trident13 1295607 /* External links */ remove the spam - see WP:EXT {{Infobox actor |image = Replace this image female.svg <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people. Non-free and "fair use" images, e.g. promo photos, CD/DVD covers, posters, screen captures, etc., will be deleted - see [[WP:NONFREE]] --> | |imagesize = 150px | | name = Rachael Stirling | birthname = Rachael Atlanta Stirling | birthdate = {{birth date and age|1977|5|30}} | location = {{flagicon|UK}} [[London]], [[United Kingdom]] | deathdate = | deathplace = | othername = | yearsactive = [[1997]] - present | spouse = | homepage = | notable role = '''Young Rebeccah''' in ''[[In the Beginning (film)|In the Beginning]]'' ([[2001]])<br>'''Nancy Astley''' in ''[[Tipping the Velvet (TV serial)|Tipping the Velvet]]'' ([[2002]]) | academyawards = | emmyawards = | tonyawards = }} '''Rachael Atlanta Stirling''' (born [[May 30]], [[1977]] in [[London]]) is an [[England|English]] stage, film and television actress best known for her performance as Nancy Astley in the [[BBC]] drama ''[[Tipping the Velvet (TV serial)|Tipping the Velvet]]''. She is the daughter of actress [[Diana Rigg|Dame Diana Rigg]] and [[Archibald Stirling|Archie Stirling]]. == Biography == Rachael Stirling was born to [[Diana Rigg|Dame Diana Rigg]] and [[Archibald Stirling|Archie Stirling]] on May 30, 1977. As the daughter of Archie Stirling, she has a long line of ancestry from the Scottish parish of [[Lecropt]], near her namesake city of [[Stirling]]. She attended [[Wycombe Abbey School]] and [[Edinburgh University]], where she gained a BA in the [[History of Art]]. Stirling can also speak [[Russian language|Russian]] and is highly skilled at [[horse-riding]] and [[showjumping|jumping]] == Career == Stirling made her first major appearance on stage in 1996 as Desdemona in the [[National Youth Theatre]] revival of ''[[Othello]]'' at the [[Arts Theatre]] opposite [[Chiwetel Ejiofor]] in the title role. A year later, again at the Arts Theatre with the NYT, she played Olive in the female version of [[The Odd Couple]]; while in 1998, portraying Kate in ''[[Dancing at Lughnasa]]'' for NYT at the Arts, she gave what [[The Stage]] reviewer described as "a performance of exceptional promise and authority." Her first screen appearance was in the 1998 British comedy film ''[[Still Crazy]]'' (starring [[Stephen Rea]], [[Billy Connolly]], [[Timothy Spall]] and [[Jimmy Nail]]). Other film projects have included ''[[Maybe Baby]]'', ''[[Complicity (film)|Complicity]]'' (with her ''Tipping the Velvet'' co-star [[Keeley Hawes]]), ''[[Another Life]]'' (with ''Vanity Fair'' actress [[Natasha Little]]), ''[[The Triumph of Love]]'' (starring [[Mira Sorvino]]), and [[Redemption Road]]. Her first TV break was in 2000 when she played the young [[Rebecca]]h in the American made-for-television movie ''[[In the Beginning (film)|In the Beginning]]'', which charted God's creation of the universe and mankind, opposite [[Jacqueline Bisset]] and [[Art Malik]]. She continues to be active in the theatre, covering a diversity of roles in plays such as [[Dusty Hughes]]' ''[[Helpless]]'' ([[Donmar Warehouse]], 2000); ''[[A Woman of No Importance]]'' ([[Theatre Royal Haymarket]], 2003); ''[[Anna in the Tropics]]'' ([[Hampstead Theatre]], 2004); ''[[Tamburlaine]]'' ([[Bristol Old Vic]] and [[Barbican]], 2005); and she followed in her mother's footsteps, bringing an alluring erotic charge to her performance as Miranda Lionheart in the [[National Theatre]] stage version of ''[[Theatre of Blood]]'' (2005). In 2006, for the Peter Hall Company at the [[Bath Theatre Royal]], she played Helena in Peter Gill's revival of ''[[Look Back in Anger]]''; while in 2007 at [[Wilton's Music Hall]] in London, she starred as Yelena in [[David Mamet]]'s version of ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'' [http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/15738/uncle-vanya], and as a fiercely intelligent Katherine in ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article1560970.ece] [http://www.wiltons.org.uk/productions/]. She is an occasional interviewer on the Radio Four chat show Loose Ends. == Television and Filmography == * ''[[Still Crazy]]'' (1998) — Clare Knowles * ''[[Maybe Baby]]'' (2000) — Joanna * ''[[Complicity (film)|Complicity]]'' (2000) — Claire * ''[[In the Beginning (film)|In the Beginning]]'' (2000) — Young Rebeccah (TV) * ''[[Redemption Road]]'' (2001) — Becky * ''[[Another Life (film)|Another Life]]'' (2001) — Avis Graydon * ''[[The Triumph of Love]]'' (2001) — Corine * ''[[Othello (2001 TV film)|Othello]]'' (2001) — Lulu (TV) * ''[[Tipping the Velvet (TV serial)|Tipping the Velvet]]'' (2002) — Nan Astley (TV) * ''[[Bait (2002 film)|Bait]]'' (2002) — Stephanie Raeburn (TV) * ''[[Agatha Christie's Poirot]]'': "[[Five Little Pigs]]" (2003) — Caroline Crale (TV) * ''[[Freeze Frame (film)|Freeze Frame]]'' (2004) — Katie Carter * ''[[Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage]]'' (2004) — Griselda Clement (TV) * ''[[The Final Quest (film)|The Final Quest]]'' (2004) — Young Annabelle (TV) * ''[[Riot at the Rite]]'' (2005) — Marie Rambert (TV) * ''[[Beyond (2006 film)|Beyond]]'' (2006) — Guilean Hade (TV) * ''[[The Truth (2006 film)|The Truth]]'' (2006) — Martha * ''[[Hotel Babylon]]'' (2006) — Nina Bailey (TV) * ''[[The Haunted Airman]]'' (2006) — Julia Jugg (TV) * ''[[Dangerous Parking]]'' (2006) — Kirstin * ''[[Lewis (TV series)]]'': "Life Born of Fire" (2007) — Zoe Kenneth (TV) * ''[[The Young Victoria]]'' (2008) — Duchess of Sutherland * ''[[Boy Meets Girl (TV serial)]]'' (2008) — Veronica == External links == * {{imdb name|id=0830556|name=Rachael Stirling}} * {{tv.com person|163219|Rachael Stirling}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Rachael}} [[Category:1977 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from London]] [[Category:Wycombe Abbey Seniors]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]] [[Category:English film actors]] [[Category:English stage actors]] [[Category:English television actors]] [[de:Rachael Stirling]] [[nl:Rachael Stirling]]