Rachael Blake

Rachael Morelle Blake (born 26 May 1971) is an Australian actress. --- Blake was born in Perth. 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") at age 17. but was rejected due to her age. She was accepted to NIDA when she was 19. --- At 13, Blake was cast in a short film. Blake's first film role was in the Australian children's movie Paws. After studying at NIDA, she worked on Australian television shows Home And Away, Pacific Drive, and Heartbreak High. In 1997, she took the role of Dr Maxine Summers in the ABC crime drama Wildside. She has also starred in the film Lantana with Anthony LaPaglia; and in the British satirical black comedy Suburban Shootout between 2006–2007. 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. She 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 2003, she married Wildside co-star Tony Martin.