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Saturday, October 23, 2010

Who is Rachelle Marie Lefevre?

Who is Rachelle Marie Lefevre?  The entertainment world knows her as Rachelle  Lefevreis, she is a Canadian actress. She has had recurring roles on television in Big Wolf on Campus, What About Brian, Boston Legal, and Swingtown. She is also known for her role as Victoria in the 2008 film Twilight, and its sequel 2009 film New Moon, based on the novels of the same names by Stephenie Meyer.

Early life

Lefevre was pronounced /ləˈfɛv/; born on February 1, 1979 and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her father is an English teacher, and her mother, a psychologist. She has three sisters and speaks both English and French;while her father's family is originally from France, Lefevre grew up mostly speaking English. Lefevre attended Centennial Academy, a private high school, and later studied creative arts at Dawson College. She studied theater for two summers at the Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts, and began a degree in education and literature at McGill University.

 Career

 Early acting career

While working as a waitress at a sushi bar in Westmount, a regular customer, a Canadian television producer, overheard Lefevre telling the hostess that she wanted to be an actress. The producer got Lefevre her first audition, for a role in the sitcom Student Bodies. She didn't yet have a head shot, so submitted a Polaroid picture. She didn't land the part but got a call back from the casting director, leading to a role in the Canadian TV series Big Wolf on Campus in 1999, playing Stacey Hanson. Lefevre finished her degree at McGill, attending semesters between shoots.
Lefevre appeared in the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, directed by George Clooney, in 2002. She appeared in the television movies Picking Up and Dropping Off with Scott Wolf, and See Jane Date, and had a role in the romantic comedy Hatley High in 2003. In 2006, she played Etta Place in the Calgary-filmed TV movie The Legend of Butch and Sundance. Lefevre moved to West Hollywood, California that year and appeared in the films Noel, directed by Chazz Palminteri and starring Penélope Cruz, and Head in the Clouds, also starring Cruz and Charlize Theron. In April 2004, Lefevre filmed the mystery-thriller The River King in Halifax, opposite Edward Burns.

Lefevre starred on the Fox sitcom Life on a Stick in 2005, playing Lily Ashton, a mall fast-food restaurant employee, and then appeared on the Fox series Pool Guys. She has guest starred on numerous other television series, including: Charmed, playing Olivia Callaway on the episode "Love's a Witch", playing Annie Isles on the fifth season of Undressed, and appearing on the short-lived ABC series What About Brian for eleven episodes. Lefevre was cast as Annie Cartwright, the female lead in ABC's Life on Mars, a David E. Kelley remake of the original British TV series. She shot a pilot episode, but was replaced by Gretchen Mol when the series was revamped.

 Twilight

Lefevre played the renegade vampire Victoria in the film Twilight (2008), based on the novel of the same name by Stephenie Meyer. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film was shot mostly in and around Portland, Oregon. Lefevre wrote an impassioned letter to the director, explaining her desire to work with the filmmaker. Lefevre described the essence of her character as "pure evil, pure instinct, pure malice, and very feline". After reading that the author used the word "feline" to describe her character's agility, Lefevre watched lion attacks on YouTube to separate the movements of her character from those of normal people. She also took trapeze classes in preparation for the wire work in the film.Lefevre spent hours working on the costumes for her character, and described herself as "obsessed" with vampires after reading Bram Stoker's Dracula at the age of 14.
Lefevre was at times overwhelmed by the scrutiny she received from her involvement with Twilight. She participated in a promotional tour in November 2008, where she met and signed autographs for Twilight fans at Hot Topic stores in the U.S.. "It's the closest I will ever come in my life to being a rock star," she told The Canadian Press, describing an appearance on MuchMusic, where over 1,500 fans showed up in Toronto.Over 2,500 fans showed up at a Wal-Mart in Salt Lake City, where Lefevre appeared to promote the DVD release of the film. Overall though, Lefevre describes herself as delighted by the attention and excitement of the fans. She appeared in New Moon, the film's sequel, based on Meyer's second novel,which she completed shooting in Vancouver in May 2009.
Lefevre did not reprise her role of Victoria in Eclipse, the third film of the Twilight series, and was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard. Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the films, attributed the change to scheduling conflicts; Eclipse and Barney's Version, an independent Canadian feature Lefevre had signed on to, both began filming on 17 August 2009. Lefevre responded that she was "stunned" by the decision and "greatly saddened" not to continue her portrayal of Victoria, and never thought she would "lose the role over a 10 day overlap", in a statement to Access Hollywood. The studio responded in a counter-statement, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is an ensemble production that has to accommodate the schedules of numerous actors while respecting the established creative vision of the filmmaker and most importantly the story." Lefevre had appeared at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con to promote New Moon the weekend before she was replaced.
Enthusiastic fans of the series reacted to the news of Lefevre's replacement with online petitions urging her return, and "Bring Back Rachelle" became a top-trending topic on Twitter in the afternoon of 29 July 2009. Lefevre told Extra that she was "absolutely blown away" by support from fans, who also made her a tribute video on YouTube. Lefevre did not attend the Los Angeles premiere of New Moon, tweeting that the event "was just 2 emotional 4 me & I couldn't manage it."

Since 2009

In 2009, Lefevre appeared in the CBC television miniseries The Summit, filmed in Ontario, and completed the film Bagman, starring Kevin Spacey. In Bagman, she plays Emily Miller, a former press secretary for U.S. congressman Tom DeLay, who helped convict lobbyist Jack Abramoff (Kevin Spacey) in a political scandal involving Native American tribes.
Lefevre will also appear in Barney's Version, a film adaptation of the award-winning Canadian novel by Mordecai Richler. Lefevre plays Clara, a manic depressive feminist poet who becomes the first wife of protagonist Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti). Her scenes were filmed in Rome in August 2009. The production continued on location in Montreal and New York. Soon after the shoot, in November 2009, Lefevre shot the suspense film The Caller in Puerto Rico along with actors Lorna Raver and Stephen Moyer. She replaced the late Brittany Murphy, who had exited the project.
Lefevre appeared in the pilot episode of the ABC television drama The Deep End on 21 January 2010. She will also star in the period piece VK, with Adrien Brody and Isabelle Adjani. The film will tell the story of Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen, a Hungarian inventor who built The Turk, a chess playing machine, in the late 18th century. Directed by Pierre Gill, Lefevre will play Annette, the wife of the Baron (Brody). Lefevre will play a young doctor working in a South American medical clinic in the television drama Off the Map, developed by Shonda Rhimes.

Personal life and charity work

Lefevre lives in Los Angeles, California. As of June 2009, she was dating Jamie King, an actor from the Showtime television series The Tudors. Lefevre donates US$100 to Susan G. Komen for The Cure, a breast cancer charity, for every 10,000 people who follow her on Twitter. She also launched an eBay auction for the charity School On Wheels in August 2009, which provides tutoring to homeless children in Southern California. Lefevre sold t-shirts and other merchandise signed by her fellow cast members from Twilight.She is also an active supporter of Best Friends Animal Society, appearing in a public service announcement on behalf of the organization in November 2009, urging the public to adopt their next pet.

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
2000 Stardom Catherine
2001 Life in the Balance Kristy Carswell
Dead Awake Randi Baum
2002 Abandon Eager Beaver
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Tuvia, Age 25
2003 Deception Denise Straight-to-DVD
Hatley High Hyacinthe Marquez
2004 The Big Thing Sarah
Head in the Clouds Alice
Noel Holly
2005 The River King Carlin Leander
Pure Julie
2007 Suffering Man's Charity Elaine
Fugitive Pieces Naomi
2008 Prom Wars Sabina
Twilight Victoria
2009 The Pool Boys Laura
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Victoria Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Villain
2010 Bagman Emily Awaiting release
Barney's Version Clara Awaiting release
The Caller Mary Kee Post-production

[edit] Television

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Big Wolf on Campus Stacey Hanson 22 episodes
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Katrina Van Tassel TV film
2000 The Hunger Smallpox Woman 1 episode
2002 Bliss Marine 1 episode
Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension Tyreena 1 episode
Undressed Annie Isles 6 episodes
2003 Largo Winch Catarina 1 episode
See Jane Date Eloise TV film
Charmed Olivia Callaway 1 episode
Picking Up & Dropping Off Georgia TV film
2004 Petits mythes urbains Receptionist #1 1 episode
The Legend of Butch & Sundance Etta Place TV film
2005 Pool Guys Alana TV film
Life on a Stick Lily 13 episodes
Bones Amy Morton 1 episode
2006 Veronica Mars Marjorie 1 episode
The Class Sue 2 episodes
Four Kings Lauren 2 episodes
What About Brian Heather 11 episodes
2007 How I Met Your Mother Sarah 1 episode
The Closer Michelle Morgan 1 episode
CSI: NY Devon Maxford 1 episode
2008 Boston Legal Dana Strickland 3 episodes
Life on Mars Annie Cartwright Unaired pilot
Swingtown Melinda 5 episodes
Eli Stone Candance Bonneville 1 episode
The Summit Leonie Adderly 2 episodes
2009 Do You Know Me Elsa Carter/Sophie Marsaretti TV film
Better Off Ted Rebecca 1 episode
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Kumari 1 episode
2010 The Deep End Katie Campbell 2 episodes

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