Rachel Talalay (born July 16, 1958) is a British-American

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and producer. She is also a

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

film professor.

Early life and education

Talalay was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. Her father

Paul Talalay Paul Talalay (31 March 1923 – 10 March 2019) was the John Jacob Abel Distinguished Service Professor of Pharmacology and director of the Laboratory for Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. He is the founder ...

was a

pharmacologist Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemic ...

, born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

to a Russian Jewish family, and her mother Pamela is an English

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

. She has two sisters and a brother. She was raised mostly in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, with two years of her childhood in Britain. Talalay attended

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, where she majored in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, graduating in 1980. She also ran the Yale Film Society.

Career

Talalay worked in a number of different capacities in filmmaking before making her directorial debut with the film '' Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare'' (1991). Talalay also worked on the first four ''

A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp ...

'' films. Her work with the earlier ''Nightmare'' films utilized her computer skills and finding ways to create better

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...

s while still keeping costs low. Despite her familiarity with the Freddy movies, when she directed ''Freddy's Dead'', she was given internal memos telling her not to be "too girly" or "too sensitive." Talalay also directed ''

Tank Girl ''Tank Girl'' is a British comic book character created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, and first appeared in print in 1988 in the British comics magazine ''Deadline''. After a period of intense popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, ...

'' in 1995, and was looking into re-optioning the rights to make a new film in 2008. As a film producer, Talalay worked with director

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...

on the films ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'' (1988) and ''

Cry-Baby ''Cry-Baby'' is a 1990 American teen musical romantic comedy film written and directed by John Waters. It was the only film of Waters's over which studios were in a bidding war, coming off the heels of the successful ''Hairspray''. The film sta ...

'' (1990). She was also a production assistant on Waters' 1981 film ''

Polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

''. Talalay states that ever since ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' was revived in 2005, she wanted to work on the show. Talalay directed all three of

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

's series finales:

series 8 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

's "

Dark Water Dark Water may refer to: Books * '' Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil'', 1920 book by American philosopher W.E.B. Du Bois * ''Dark Water'' (book) (仄暗い水の底から; ''Honogurai mizu no soko kara''; literally ''In the Depths of Dark ...

" and "

Death in Heaven "Death in Heaven" is the twelfth and final episode of the Doctor Who (series 8), eighth series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 8 November 2014. The episode was written by sh ...

series 9 The ninth series of the children's television series '' Hi-5'' aired between 11 June 2007 and 10 August 2007 on the Nine Network in Australia. The series was produced by Kids Like Us for Nine with Helena Harris as executive producer. This was t ...

's " Heaven Sent" and " Hell Bent"—the former considered by many to be one of the best episodes in the show's history— and

series 10 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

's " World Enough and Time" and "

The Doctor Falls "The Doctor Falls" is the twelfth and final episode of the tenth series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was written by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay, and was broadcast on 1 July 2017 on BBC One. I ...

", as well as the ''Doctor Who'' 2017 Christmas special, " Twice Upon a Time". She returns to ''Doctor Who'' in 2023 for a special with

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007) ...

returning as the

Fourteenth Doctor The Fourteenth Doctor is the current incarnation of the Doctor, the fictional protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme, '' Doctor Who''. The Fourteenth Doctor is portrayed by Scottish actor, David Tennant, who previously por ...

and

Donna Noble Donna Noble (later Donna Temple-Noble) is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a former companion of the Tenth Docto ...

as part of the show's 60th anniversary. In 2019, she directed a film adaption of Joe Ballarini's ''

A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting ''A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting'' is a 2020 American dark fantasy comedy film directed by Rachel Talalay and distributed by Netflix. The film was written by Joe Ballarini and is based on his book trilogy of the same name. It stars Tom ...

'' for

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Personal life

Talalay met British film producer Rupert Harvey while working on '' Android'' in 1982. They began a relationship soon after, and were married in 1990, with John Waters officiating the wedding.

Filmography

Films

Television

TV movies * ''A Tale of Two Wives'' (2003) * ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

'' (2006) * ''

Hannah's Law ''Hannah's Law'' is a 2012 American/Canadian Western television film from the Hallmark Movie Channel. The movie stars Cameron Bancroft, Sara Canning, John Pyper-Ferguson, and Julian Black Antelope. Synopsis The film is centered on the charac ...

'' (2012) * ''The Dorm'' (2014) * '' Unclaimed'' (2016) TV series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Talalay, Rachel 1958 births American film producers American people of English descent 20th-century American Jews American people of German-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American television directors American television producers American women film directors American women film producers American women television producers Film directors from Illinois Living people University of British Columbia faculty American women television directors Yale University alumni American women academics 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American women 21st-century American women