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

Teyla Emmagan Teyla Emmagan is a primary 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 ...

, an

Athosian The characters from the Canadian military science fiction television series ''Stargate Atlantis'' were created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper. The series follows the adventures of a human expedition to the lost city of Atlantis in the Pegas ...

warrior leader on ''

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

''.

Early life

Luttrell was born 19 January 1971, in

Dar Es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, the daughter of Veronica Makihio Shenkunde Luttrell of the Washambala tribe of the

Usambara Mountains The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tang ...

, and Dr. William Leon Luttrell from

Bossier City Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area. In 2020, it had a ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

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

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Her family has several musical roots; her father, a former member of the critically acclaimed

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir is a Canadian large vocal ensemble based in Toronto, Ontario. It was co-founded in 1894 by Augustus S. Vogt and W. H. Hewlett to celebrate the opening of the Massey Hall. The ensemble was originally an extension of ...

, 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 The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

Career

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

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a 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 ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

'' in

, and as "The Enchantress" in the Canadian production of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

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

Once On This Island ''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retelling o ...

'', ''

Goblin Market ''Goblin Market'' (composed in April 1859 and published in 1862) is a narrative poem by Christina Rossetti. The poem tells the story of Laura and Lizzie who are tempted with fruit by goblin merchants. In a letter to her publisher, Rossetti claim ...

'', and the premier performance of

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

–winning playwright

Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are Black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for he ...

's ''

Las Meninas ''Las Meninas'' (; ) is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. It has become one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting, due to the way its complex an ...

''. Following a move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Luttrell became frustrated with some of the minor roles she was offered to her at the time, and considered giving up on her acting career to enrol at the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

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 constructing building ...

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

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

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

on ''

''. She remained in this role for 99 episodes until the end of the season five in 2009. She also appeared in the Canadian movie ''

A Dog's Breakfast ''A Dog's Breakfast'' is a Canadian comedy independent film produced in 2006. It was the first film to be written and directed by British-born Canadian actor David Hewlett, who is best known for his role of Dr. Rodney McKay in the TV franchise ' ...

'', which was directed by her ''Stargate Atlantis'' co-star

David Hewlett David Ian Hewlett (born 18 April 1968) is a British-born 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 Cana ...

. In 2011 Luttrell ventured into jazz music, releasing her first album ''I Wish You Love'', produced by

Gerrit Kinkel Gerrit Kinkel (born December 27, 1984 in Bregenz) is an Austrian composer, record producer, recording engineer and performer. Musical career and personal life Early life and education Gerrit grew up in the countryside of Vorarlberg, Austria. ...

and featuring artists like

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

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

Personal life

Luttrell is married to Loyd Bateman, a former stunt performer; they have two children together, her son Caden (born 2007) and daughter Ridley (born 2012). Luttrell has two younger sisters,

Erica Luttrell Erica Luttrell is a Canadian actress. Personal life Luttrell was born in Toronto, Ontario to a Tanzanian mother and an American father. Luttrell is the youngest of four sisters. She can speak some French and Swahili. In August 2019, Luttrell ...

, who is also an actress, and Amanda Luttrell Garrigus, who is an on-air personality for fashion and entertainment. Luttrell is sometimes credited as "Rachel Z. Luttrell".

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