Rachael Blake

Rachael Morelle Blake (born May 26, 1971) is an Australian actress. Early life Blake was born in Perth, Western Australia. At the age of 18 months, she moved to England with her English parents, only to return to Perth at age 11. Blake was born deaf in one ear, a condition that was rectified by a series of operations undertaken before she was six. To overcome shyness and her hearing problem, her mother enrolled her in elocution lessons, which she continued until age 17. After attending the John Curtin College of the Arts high school in Perth, she applied to Sydney's National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) but was rejected due to her age of 17. She was accepted to NIDA when she was 19. Acting career At 13, Blake was cast in a short film. After studying at NIDA, she worked on Australian television shows Home and Away as Mandy Thomas (1995–1997), Pacific Drive, and Heartbreak High (1996). Blake's first feature film role was as Amy in the Australian children's movie Paws (1997). In 1997, she took the role of Dr Maxine Summers in the ABC crime drama Wildside.