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Rachael Crawford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rachael Crawford
Born1969 (age 54–55)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationActress
Years active1986–present

Rachael Crawford (born 1969) is an actress best known for her roles in Brewster Place,[1][2] Here and Now,[3] and Show Me Yours, as well as guest appearances on various television series such as Cold Squad, Crossing Jordan, and more recently The Firm and Suits. Throughout her career, Crawford has received three Canadian Screen Award nominations.

Career

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Crawford began her acting career in the mid-1980s. She portrayed Renee, a teenage cousin of Mr. T's character, in crime drama T. and T.[4] Crawford won the role of Kiswana Browne in the Oprah Winfrey produced series Brewster Place (1990),[5] replacing Robin Givens who portrayed the character in The Women of Brewster Place.[6] Crawford appeared regularly as college student Danielle in the sitcom Here and Now.[7][8]

She appeared in various television movies during the 1990s. Crawford played the lead role of Tai Babilonia in biopic On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story.[9] In 1996's Captive Heart: The James Mink Story, Crawford appeared as Myra Mink, a young black woman in the 1850s who becomes enslaved by her husband, a white man.[10] James Mink was played by Louis Gossett Jr.[11] She worked with Gossett again the following year, with In His Father's Shoes.[12]

Crawford made her feature film debut in 1995's Rude as Maxine, a woman who chooses to have an abortion after ending a relationship with her boyfriend.[13] She received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for her performance in this film.[14] Crawford portrayed Petra, a circus performer who dates the female protagonist, in the 1995 film When Night is Falling.[15] Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised Crawford's performance, believing she and co-star Pascale Bussières were an "appealing" couple.[16] Another reviewer found the movie too "lowkey," but felt Crawford's character added "fascination" to the film.[17]

Her other film work includes Curtis's Charm (1996)[18] and Pale Saints (1997), being nominated for her second Canadian Screen Award for the latter.[19] She was a main cast member on drama Traders as Niko Bach from 1998 to 2000. Crawford earned her third Canadian Screen Award nomination in 2000 for her work on the series.[20]

During the 2000s, Crawford guest starred on science fiction series Mutant X[21] and appeared as Dara Vann in The Man (2005).[22] She portrayed Diane Haughton, the mother of Aaliyah, in Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014).[23] She had a regular role on drama series This Life as Danielle, the lead character's best friend, from 2015 to 2016.[24] Crawford then played Crack in Brown Girl Begins (2017), a role one film critic found "chilling."[25]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1995 Rude Maxine
1995 When Night Is Falling Petra Soft
1995 Curtis's Charm Cookie
1997 Pale Saints Valdine
1998 Kai Rabe gegen die Vatikankiller Maskenbildnerin
2003 The Sacrifice Fortuneteller Short film
2005 The Man Dara Vann
2009 Chains Chain Short film
2017 Brown Girl Begins Crack
2020 Possessor Dr. Melis
2024 Time Cut Kendra

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1986 9B Jenny Wevers TV film
1986-1987 Dear Aunt Agnes Marsha Recurring role
1987 Adderly Lucinda Episode: "Who Do, Voodoo"
1988 9B Jenny Wevers Recurring role (5 episodes)
1988 T. and T. Renee Regular role (24 episodes)
1988 Friday the 13th: The Series Stacy Episode: "The Voodoo Mambo"
1989 E.N.G. Janice Roberts Episode: "E.N.G. Pilot: Part 1"
1989 Inside Stories Gracie Episode: "Gracie"
1990 E.N.G. Janice Roberts Episode: "All Things Betray Thee"
1990 Brewster Place Melanie "Kiswana" Browne Main role (11 episodes)
1990 On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story Tai Babilonia TV film
1992-1993 Here and Now Danielle Main role (13 episodes)
1994 Treacherous Beauties Lois Parsons TV film
1994 Free Willy Marlene (voice) TV series
1996 Side Effects Viki Episode: "Easy Breathing"
1996 Captive Heart: The James Mink Story Mary Mink TV film
1996 We the Jury Warnicke TV film
1997 The Outer Limits Sherry McAllister Episode: "Dark Rain"
1997 In His Father's Shoes Celeste TV film
1997-1999 Between Brothers Teri Main role (17 episodes)
1998 Twitch City Expert Episode: "People Who Fight Too Much"
1998-2000 Traders Niko Bach Main role (35 episodes)
1999 Love Songs Sheron TV film
1999 Nightworld: Survivor Kat Holden TV film
1999 Hoop Life Paula Lyons Episodes: "Rookie", "Of Human Bondage", "The Trade-Off"
2000 Earth: Final Conflict Samira Farid Episode: "Scorched Earth"
2000 Falcone Mrs. Patterson Episodes: "Lealta", "That's Amore", "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
2000 Dirty Pictures Ann Bosworth TV film
2001 Soul Food Rhonda Episode: "This Crazy Life"
2001 Cold Squad Dr. Barbara Whittaker Episode: "Vancouver Confidential"
2002 The Associates Suzanne Erikkson Episode: "Take This Job..."
2002 Crossing Jordan Samantha Reid Episode: "With Honor"
2002 Red Skies Nicole TV film
2002 Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay Annika Kern TV film
2004 Mutant X Samantha Bennett Episode: "Possibilities"
2004-2005 Show Me Yours Dr. Kate Langford Main role (16 episodes)
2005 CSI: Miami Beth Jacobson Episode: "Three-Way"
2006 Last Exit Catherine Vargas TV film
2008 The Trojan Horse Colleen Howell TV miniseries
2008 The Summit Robin Levy TV miniseries
2008 Sophie Kim Episodes: "Who's Your Daddy?", "Bursting Balloons"
2009 Sophie Kim Episodes: "Trust or Bust", "Wedding Bell Blues"
2009 'Da Kink in My Hair Cheryl Episode: "Licks!"
2009 Guns Eva Innis TV miniseries
2009 Being Erica Alexis Episodes: "Under My Thumb", "A River Runs Through It... It Being Egypt"
2009 Cra$h & Burn Catherine Hearn Episodes: "Trust", "The Boss Is Coming"
2011 Republic of Doyle Dr. Jennifer Sullivan Episode: "Crashing on the Couch"
2011 The Listener Emily Miller Episode: "Inner Circle"
2011 Call Me Fitz Laverne Episodes: "A** Hickey", "Dysfunctional Family Circus", "How Do You Say 'Blow Job' in Pennsylvania Dutch?"
2011-2012 Alphas Jeannie Harken Recurring role (6 episodes)
2012 King Dr. Rausch Episode: "Freddy Boise"
2012 The Firm Dianne Ruckeyser Recurring role (6 episodes)
2012 Suits Ella Follman Episode: "All In"
2014 Continuum Catherine 7 episodes
2014 Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B Diane Haughton TV film
2015 Hello, it's me Ericka TV movie
2015-2016 This Life Danielle Berg 12 episodes
2016 Heartland Natalie 2 episodes
2017 Incorporated Mrs. Morse 2 episodes
2017 The Expanse Admiral Pena 2 episodes
2017 Private Eyes Emila Mantella 1 episode
2017 Tin Star Dr. Susan Bouchard 1 episode
2022 Revenge of the Black Best Friend Aibleen

References

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  1. ^ New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. 1990-05-07.
  2. ^ O'Connor, John J. (1990-05-01). "Review/Television; Show About Black People, With Winfrey in Charge". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  3. ^ Williams, Dawn P. (2002). Who's who in Black Canada: Black Success and Black Excellence in Canada : a Contemporary Directory, 2002. Who's Who in Black Canada. ISBN 978-0-9731384-1-2.
  4. ^ Erickson, Hal (September 29, 2009). Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtroom, 1948-2008. McFarland & Company. p. 257. ISBN 9780786438280.
  5. ^ Zuckerman, Faye (May 1, 1990). "Oprah put in new 'Place'". Star-News. p. 5D.
  6. ^ Burlingame, Jon (May 1, 1990). "'Brewster Place' avoids serious issues". The Spokesman-Review. p. F7.
  7. ^ Leszczak, Bob (August 31, 2018). Single Season Sitcoms of the 1990s: A Complete Guide. McFarland & Company. p. 83. ISBN 9781476670775.
  8. ^ Storm, Jonathan (September 15, 1992). "Seven new faces to make a mark". Reading Eagle. p. A12.
  9. ^ Burlingame, Jon (November 5, 1990). "'On Thin Ice': Skating champion bounces back after nasty fall". Boca Raton News. p. 25E.
  10. ^ Pierce, Scott D. (April 12, 1996). "True or not, 'Captive Heart' is a good made-for-TV movie". The Deseret News. p. C3.
  11. ^ Brennan, Patricia (April 13, 1996). "Beloved daughter ends up a slave". Star-News. p. 5D.
  12. ^ Bobbin, Jay (June 13, 1997). "Louis Gosset, Jr. continues to work and improve after 45 years". The Vindicator. p. 5.
  13. ^ Varga, Darrell; Khouri, Malek (2006). Working on Screen. University of Toronto Press. p. 254. ISBN 9780802093882.
  14. ^ "Nominees for the 1995 Genie Awards". Canadian Press. November 7, 1995.
  15. ^ Peary, Gerald (December 29, 1995). "Film strips". The Boston Phoenix. p. 43.
  16. ^ Holden, Stephen (February 6, 1996). "'Night Is Falling' erotic, but uneven". Gainesville Sun. p. 3D.
  17. ^ Paseman, Lloyd (January 19, 1996). "'Night is Falling' never wakes up". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 8D.
  18. ^ Monush, Barry; Willis, John (1998). Screen World 1997. Applause Books. p. 264. ISBN 9781557833204.
  19. ^ "Two films lead Genie pack". Waterloo Region Record. December 8, 1998.
  20. ^ "Here are the nominees for the 15th annual Gemini Awards". Canadian Press. September 19, 2000.
  21. ^ Muir, John Kenneth (August 21, 2008). The encyclopedia of superheroes on film and television. McFarland & Company. p. 399. ISBN 9780786437559.
  22. ^ Monush, Barry; Willis, John (2006). Screen World Film Annual. Vol. 57. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 217. ISBN 9781557837066.
  23. ^ "'Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B': TV Review". Billboard. November 15, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  24. ^ Kelly, Brendan (June 1, 2015). "Torri Higginson finds a home in Nouvelle adresse's English remake, This Life". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  25. ^ Shearer, Andrew (January 3, 2019). "Film Review: 'Brown Girl Begins' brings ambition, light to sci-fi dystopia". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
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