Rachael Bella was born on March 13, 1984 and spent her early childhood in Vermillion, South Dakota, a town of about 10,000 people in the Southeastern corner of the state. It's likely if she had stayed there, she might never have considered becoming an actress, but as it happened, her mother decided to finish her own schooling in New York and in September of 1987, her parents having divorced, Rachael and her mother moved to a tiny apartment in West Hempstead, Long Island, a train ride away from New York City.

She saw her first Broadway musical, "Cats," at the age of three and was spellbound by it, although she didn't understand exactly what it was all about. Nonetheless, she listened to a tape of the music over and over again, and within a few days, to her family's surprise, she had actually memorized the entire score. Seeing "Cats" was a life changing experience, and in the years that followed, young as she was, Rachael couldn't get enough of watching the mesmerizing activity of actors on a stage. "Les Miserables" became her favorite show and, over the course of her childhood, she begged and pleaded and got to see it several times. Actually performing in musical theater, herself, became her dream and eventually she was enrolled in a theater class taught by a woman who had been a singer and dancer herself.

By the end of her first year of study, when Rachael was eight, she was assigned a small solo in the recital the school gave each year. Chita Rivera, a big Broadway star, was the host and many professionals were in the audience.

Rachael was tiny for her age but had a surprisingly powerful voice. Her reception at the recital was enthusiastic and Broadway agents began calling the house. The agent she ended up signing with specialized in musical theater, but at that time, there was only one part that someone as little as Rachael could play. That was Young Cosette in "Les Miserables," a role that would have been a dream–come–true, but was already being played by someone else. Rachael would have to wait to be the girl's replacement if she were eventually to be cast at all. In the hope of making her casting more of a likelihood, she began studying voice with the director of the Brooklyn opera. She practiced and she waited.

In the meantime, an independent film maker was looking for a little girl to play a part in her movie "Household Saints." As an actress, Rachael was completely untested, but luckily for her, she was cast in the role of Young Teresa. Playing that part, she was once again swept away, this time by acting. After "Household Saints," one film seemed to follow another. She grew too old to play Cosette but by then she loved what she was doing too much to have any regrets. She especially enjoyed working with other actors, with directors, and with all the people who, together, make a movie or TV show possible. Most of them were adults with many years more experience than she had, but the one thing that stood out for her was that, without exception, they treated her respectfully, as a colleague, and many went out of their way to be helpful and kind. She has always been grateful for that.

Then, the worst thing that can happen to a child actor, happened to Rachael; she grew up. Suddenly, she was too old to play children's parts and too young to play teenagers, let alone women. By then. she and her mother had moved to Los Angeles where her grandma was living. She was in the right place with a great resume, but there were few roles she was right for and it wasn't until she was finally cast in "The Practice" as a girl whose boyfriend had been shot and who had to testify at trial, that her adult career began. She played a number of exciting roles on TV and then was cast in "The Ring," which was also great experience. Now she looks forward to a long career in acting (and maybe singing) the only things she has ever wanted to do. ~ courtesy RachaelBella.com