Rachel Hilson

Rachel Naomi Hilson is an American actress. She started her career in 2010 with a recurring role on the CBS legal drama ''The Good Wife'' as Nisa Dalmar. In 2025, she began a main role as FBI agent Nina Hayes on the Max crime thriller series '' Duster''. She has also had recurring roles on NBC's '' Rise'' and ''This Is Us'' and a lead role on the Hulu teen drama '' Love, Victor''.

Early life and education

Rachel Naomi Hilson was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Anita and Robert Hilson. She has a sister named Kimberly.

Hilson began dancing at age 3. While she had many aspirations, her passion for dance stuck. Hilson told '' Backstage'' "I dedicated my life to ''Nutcrackers'', spring recitals, dance camps" and recreating scenes from the 2000 movie '' Center Stage'' as Eva. Hilson was discovered by an agent at age 12 and took up acting. That summer, her mother convinced Hilson to attend the Broadway Artist Alliance in New York. She was then recruited by Nancy Carson of the Carson-Adler Agency, who would later become her agent, to dance in the children's musical series ''LazyTown''. After traveling to Iceland with her mom for the tapings, Hilson signed with Carson a few months later. From there, she auditioned for the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA). At BSA, Hilson continued dancing and acting, but also participated in sports. Hilson credited her high school theater program with helping her overcome her shyness.

Hilson attended the New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she created her own curriculum. Throughout her college career, Hilson performed in several theatre productions including ''Hamlet''. She graduated in 2018 with a concentration in Writing and Performing Race. She worked part-time as a bread salesman, even serving actress Lupita Nyong'o at one point.

Career

Living in Baltimore, Hilson and her mother would take bus rides to New York for auditions. One of the first auditions she he booked was the recurring role of Nisa on ''The Good Wife'' when she was 15. Over the next decade, Hilson appeared in episodes of ''Royal Pains'', '' Elementary'', '' Nurse Jackie'', '' The Affair'', '' Madam Secretary'', ''The Americans'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and '' First Wives Club''.

Hilson starred opposite Halle Berry in her first feature film, '' Kings'', which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. She described the project was a "dream come true". That same year, she had a recurring role as Harmony on NBC's short lived musical drama, '' Rise''.

In 2019, Hilson recurred on ''This Is Us'' as the teenage version Beth Pearson, played by Susan Kelechi Watson. In August 2019, Hilson replaced Johnny Sequoyah as Mia in '' Love, Victor'', the sequel to the 2018 film, ''Love, Simon'' . This was her first role as a series regular.

On August 21, 2021, Hilson joined the cast of HBO's '' Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty''.

In 2025 she is a co-lead on the Max series '' Duster'' opposite Josh Holloway.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilson, Rachel
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
21st-century African-American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Baltimore
African-American child actresses
American child actresses
American television actresses
American film actresses
New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study alumni