Rachel Zawadi Luttrell (born 19 January 1971) is a Tanzanian-born Canadian actress best known for her role as

Teyla Emmagan Teyla Emmagan is a fictional character played by Rachel Luttrell in the science fiction series ''Stargate Atlantis''. In the show, she is the daughter of Tagan, and was a leader of a village on the planet Athos. She had seen much of her family ...

in ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...

'' (2004–2009).

Early life

Luttrell was born 19 January 1971, in

Dar Es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, the daughter of Veronica Makihio Shenkunde Luttrell of the Washambala tribe of the Usambara Mountains, and Dr. William Leon Luttrell from Bossier City,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. She is one of four daughters. Her family emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

when she was five years old, and she was raised in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Her family has several musical roots; her father, a former member of the critically acclaimed Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, trained Luttrell's soprano voice. She studied ballet at the Russian Academy of Classical Ballet School and also studied piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music in

Career

Luttrell made her professional debuts in Canada's premier production of ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

'' in

, and as the Enchantress in the Canadian production of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

''. She would go on to appear in many other stage productions, such as '' Once On This Island'', ''

Goblin Market ''Goblin Market'' is an 1862 Narrative poetry, narrative poem by Christina Rossetti. It tells the story of sisters Laura and Lizzie, who are tempted with fruit by goblin merchants. In a letter to her publisher, Rossetti claimed that the poem, w ...

'', and the first production of

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

–winning playwright Lynn Nottage's '' Las Meninas''. Following a move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Luttrell became frustrated with some of the minor roles that were offered to her at the time, and considered giving up on her acting career to enroll at the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

to study

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. She ventured to the UK instead and studied at the British American Drama Association on a midsummer course at Balliol College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. In 2004, Luttrell was cast in a main role as Athosian warrior-leader

on ''

''. She remained in this role for 99 episodes until the end of the series in 2009. Her ''Stargate Atlantis'' co-star

David Hewlett David Ian Hewlett (born 18 April 1968) is an English-Canadian actor, writer and director, known for his role as Dr. Rodney McKay in the ''Stargate'' science-fiction franchise. He first gained fame for his roles as Grant Jansky in the Canadian ...

directed her in the Canadian movie '' A Dog's Breakfast''. In 2011 Luttrell ventured into jazz music, releasing her first album ''I Wish You Love'', produced by Gerrit Kinkel and featuring

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

player Jennifer Leitham, Graham Dechter, Konrad Paszkudzki and drummer Jeff Hamilton.

Personal life

Luttrell married Loyd Bateman, a former stunt performer, in 2007; they have two children together, a son, Caden, born in 2007, and a daughter, Ridley, born in 2012. Luttrell has two younger sisters, Erica Luttrell, who is also an actress, and Amanda Luttrell Garrigus, who is an on-air personality in the fashion and entertainment worlds.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
One on One with Rachel Luttrell
Interview with Luttrell about her career and season four of ''Stargate Atlantis'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Luttrell, Rachel 1971 births Living people People from Dar es Salaam Canadian people of American descent Actresses from Toronto Tanzanian emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Tanzanian descent Canadian television actresses Black Canadian actresses