Rachel Miner Central

Rachel's Stats

Birthdate: July 29, 1980

Birthplace: NYC

Hair: Honey Blonde (or light blonde, brown, red, depending on the part)

Eyes: Hazel (or light brown, or green, depending on the lighting)

Height: 5' 4"

Grew up on the Upper West Side in Manhattan.

Family: Father, Peter Miner (teacher, director, producer); mother, Diane Miner (teacher, writer); brother, Peter Miner, Jr. (actor); grandfather, Worthington Miner (producer, director); grandmother, Frances Fuller (actress, teacher).

Began acting at the age of eight.

Studied with respected New York children's acting coach, Karen Leigh Anthony.

Appeared in Woody Allen's Alice at the age of nine.

Played Michelle Bauer on CBS's Guiding Light from 1990 to 1995.

Nominated for a Daytime Emmy at the age of fourteen.

Attended Professional Children's School (1993 to 1997/98?). Did not (quite) graduate high school.

Hit by a car in Boston, leg broken, on the way to a matinee of The Diary of Anne Frank (1997).

Broadway debut at the age of seventeen (The Diary of Anne Frank). Rejoined cast after recovering from car accident.

Third generation to appear on Broadway (following her grandparents and father).

Married at seventeen, to Macaulay Culkin, June 21, 1998.

Separated at nineteen, in 2000.

Divorced in ????

Won Best Actress at the Stockholm Film Festival at twenty-one in 2001.

Dating unnamed musician in 2002.

Fun Stats/Trivia

Astrological sign: Leo

Wanted to be an actress from age two.

Also wanted to be a ballerina, a paleontologist, an astronaut (was head of the astronauts' club at age six).

Vegetarian from age nine.

Has been compared to a dolphin.

Don't say "break-a-leg" to her. She already did (on the way to a matinee).

Married in a 174-year old, secluded, country, stone church (without electricity) in New Preston, Connecticut. Reception held in a flower-filled tent in Roxbury, Connecticut.

Loves animals, baking, fairies, foreign cinema, magic, museums, nice pretty things, puppies, reading, teaching art to toddlers...

Also enjoys traveling and meeting people, beautiful skies, the moon, the stars, even bubble lights...

Favorite food: pepper

Film favorites mentioned:
In 2002: Harry Potter, foreign cinema...
In 2004: Braveheart, Brazil, Full Metal Jacket, The Hustler, Lawrence of Arabia, Legend

Screen gems: Marlon Brando, Grace Kelly, Paul Newman

She'd love to work with: Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Terry Gilliam, Stanley Kubrick [Note: if he were alive], Samantha Morton, Sean Penn, Meryl Streep

Books she was reading:
In 2002: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Elegant Universe (about string theory) and Lord of the Rings. Also read Jim Schutze's, Bully, A True Story of High School Revenge (as research for the film).
In 2004: "Time Line of History, which I refer to constantly. It chronicles the rise of civilization on this planet."

Favorite bands: Firewater, Poets and Pornstars, Sugar Ros

Favorite restaurant: Inn of the Seventh Ray

Favorite designer: Alicia Mugetti, "She designs and handpaints the most beautiful dresses."

Was teaching herself Latin (in 2002).

Tattoos: Fairy on her lower back (mentioned in 2002, pic in i-D Magazine, Issue No. 218, 03/02). Another tattoo can be seen on her ankle in a pic in the August 2006 issue of Jane magazine.

Smoked an American Spirit cigarette during an interview (in 2002). [Note: Her character smoked in Bully]

Has worked in: Bergenfield, NJ (Joe the King), Big Bear, CA (Penny Dreadful), Boston, MA (The Diary of Anne Frank), Buenos Aires, Argentina (Hide), Cayman Islands (Haven), Chicago, IL (Blue Surge), Hollywood, FL (Bully, Thanks to Gravity), London, England (NY-LON) Los Angeles, CA (The Blue Hour, Bones, Circadian Rhythm, CSI, Cult, Grasshopper, The Guy in Row Five, Little Athens, Man of God, Medium, The Memory Thief, Onion Underwater, The Still Life, Without a Trace), Miami, FL (Thanks to Gravity), New York, NY (Blue Surge, The Diary of Anne Frank, Guiding Light, Henry Fool, Naked Faith, NY-LON, Sex in the City, etc.), Philadelphia, PA (Tooth and Nail), Salta, Argentina (Hide), Seattle, WA (God of Vengeance), Sofia, Bulgaria, (The Black Dahlia), Toronto, Canada (Shining Time Station - Tis a Gift), Washington, DC (Bus Stop, Fatwa)...

(Note: We think The Rink in Bergenfield NJ (later torn down) was the one where Joe the King shot Rachel's scene -- anyone know better?)

Names of Characters played:

Julie - The Blue Hour (2007)
Mindy - Cult (2007)
Neon - Tooth and Nail (2007)
Martha Linscott - The Black Dahlia (2006)
Valerie Whitehall - CSI: Crime Scene Investigations (2006)
Cassie Davidson - Fatwa (2006)
Terry - Grasshopper (2006)
Betty - Hide (2006)
Emilia "Lia" Purcell - Medium (2006)
Mira - The Memory Thief (2006)
Tara - Onion Underwater (2006)
Penny Dearborn - Penny Dreadful (2006)
Julia Martic - Without a Trace (2006)
Mary Costello - Bones (2005)
Sarah - Circadian Rhythm (2005)
Jade - The Guy in Row Five (2005)
Allison - Little Athens (2004)
Karen Cohen - Man of God (2005)
Robin - The Still Life (2005)
Sophia - Thanks to Gravity (2005)
Eva - Haven (2004)
Astrid - NY-LON (2004)
Cherie - Bus Stop (2003)
Sandy - Blue Surge (2001-2002)
Lisa Connelly - Bully (2001)
Rivkele - God of Vengeance (2000)
Patty - Joe the King (1999)
Laurel - Sex and the City (1999)
Girl in Library #3 - Henry Fool (1998)
Margot Frank - The Diary of Anne Frank (1996-1997)
Jennifer - Naked Faith, The Way (1994)
Michelle Bauer - Guiding Light (1990-1994)
Vickie - Shining Time Station (1990)
Alice, age 12 - Alice (1990)
Real people played: Margot Frank, Lisa Connelly.

Best Lines:

"The hitman needs a ride." (Bully, 2001)

"... I can't believe I'm out with Carrie Bradshaw. This is too cool." (Sex and the City, 1999)

"Are you implying I'm some kind of Lewinsky?" (Sex and the City, 1999)

"Lady, you got it going on." (Sex and the City, 1999)

"Oh, my God. That is not a tick." (Sex and the City, 1999)

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Words used to describe Rachel (and her performances):

appealing
astonishing*
brave
bravura
brilliant*
cherubic
courageous
elfin
enigmatic
ethereal
extraordinary
fantastic
giggly*
impressive
introspective
outstanding
nuanced
pale*
petite
powerful
quiet
sharp
spot-on
standout
superb
sweet*
unselfish
Note: asterisk* denotes words found two, three or more times

Phrases used to describe Rachel:

"a bright ball of energy"
"a genius"
"a good caretaker"
"a good human"
"a knockout"
"a rising star"
"a very fine actress"
"an artist"
"an autodidact"
"angelically soft voice"
"astonishingly talented"
"easygoing charm"
"elfin-like actress"
"ethereally calm"
"fits no expectations"
"fluttery giggle"
"glowing porcelain skin"
"hypnotically fascinating"
"impossibly fresh-faced,"
"intense expression"
"kooky indie princess"
"luminously pale skin"
"no wide-eyed ingenue"
"on overdrive"
"percolating vulnerability"
"projects intellectual curiosity"
"radiating a confidence and self-possession"
"she weaves magic"
"sweet unselfish aura"
"the child and the adult"
"the gamin and the sage"
"with a sweet face and assured demeanor"

Self-described:

"I'm always silly!"
"I'm very silly"
"I tend to talk in a baby voice"
"I kind of have multiple personalities"
"I've got many different voices"
"I have a Southern girl, an Irish girl"
"I have a gibberish language"
"I try never to take myself too seriously"
"By some people's standards, I might be crazy"
"I've always been pretty stable"
"I'm not going to harm anyone"
"The only place that I live is within my own universe, really-so it's OK"
"It's very hard to get me angry"
"I don't have a real violent instinct"
"I get paid to be crazy"
"I get paid to believe I'm someone else"
"I'm living in my own dream world"
"I wanted to be everything"
"I always knew I wanted to do it [act]"
"I don't see myself as being a particularly gorgeous person"
"in character I'm not self-conscious"
"I try not to judge people"
"I'm playful"
"I'm not cool"
"I'm a real geek"
"I always thought of myself as an adult"
"I'm not an interesting subject"
"I'm not like a party animal or wild"
"I sit at home and read a lot"
"I love to go to museums"
"I love to study"
"I love to bake"