Rachel Leigh Blakely (born 28 July 1968) is an Australian actress. Her works include films such as Love Until, Young Hercules and Counterstrike, as well as guest appearances on television shows such as Xena: Warrior Princess,"The eighth wonder; One to Watch" by James Joyce, The Newcastle Herald (1 May 1998) [late edition] Retrieved from State Coroner and Flipper. She is best known for her role as Gaby Willis in Neighbours,"Screen test turns up the right address" by Penny Cowell, The Gold Coast Bulletin (28 June 2008) Retrieved from Marguerite Krux on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, and as Glenda Fry in the Australian series Mortified."Mortified kids are a class act" by Taylor Fry, The Herald Sun (10 July 2008) Retrieved from

Personal life Rachel Leigh Blakely was born on 28 July 1968 in Brunei, Borneo."Good neighbour is now one of us" by Ben Dorries, The Courier-Mail (27 Jan 2001) Retrieved from Her father, Harold Blakely, is an American, and her mother was Australian. Due to her father's oil business, the family, including younger sister Ruth, moved to several countries over the years until settling on an Australian farm when Blakely was twelve.

Before she became an actress, Blakely worked as a nightclub bouncer, a model and a short order cook; it was her ex-husband's suggestion that she audition for a role on Neighbours.

In her spare time, Blakely enjoys camping, sewing, painting, cooking and sleeping. Her favourite authors are Margaret Atwood and Tracy Chevalier, and her favourite movies are Queen Margot and Breaking the Waves.

Blakely married fellow actor Peter Craig in 1990, but they divorced some years later. She met her current partner, stuntman Sean Rigby, on the set of Tales of the South Seas. Their first child, Cooper Lee Rigby, was born in September 2003, and their second child, Nash Rigby, was born in early 2009.

Career Blakely was a successful model, before she was spotted by the Neighbours casting director and asked to audition for the role of Gaby Willis. Blakely was introduced to the show as Gaby in August 1991. In October 1993, David Brown of TV Week reported Blakely would be leaving Neighbours. She filmed her final scenes the following month. Blakely later reprised her role of Gaby for Neighbours' 20th anniversary episode broadcast in July 2005.

Blakely then moved into films - mostly made for television - and guest appearances on well-known television shows. The actress has also been part of the leading cast on several programs, including Blue Heelers,"Love on the Run" by Glen Humphries, Illawarra Mercury (25 July 1997) [Late Edition] Retrieved from City Life and The Lost World. She also joined the cast of Mortified, playing Glenda Fry. In 2000, Blakely appeared in four episodes of Search Party and five episodes of Hollywood Squares, as herself.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1995 Love Until Madeline 1997 Mr. Nice Guy Sandy 1998 Young Hercules Alcmene Video 2010 Gael's Mother

Television Year Title Role Notes 1991–1994 Neighbours Gaby Willis Main role 1993 Victoria Payne TV film 1995–1997 Blue Heelers Gina Belfanti Recurring role 1996–1997 City Life Siobhan O'Halloran Recurring role 1997 One Way Ticket Deborah Carter TV film"Suburban Commando" by Stan James, The Advertiser (12 April 2001) [1 STATE Edition] Retrieved from 1997 Xena: Warrior Princess Penelope "Ulysses" 1997 State Coroner Lisbeth Christi "Blood Sport" 1997 Flipper Melisand "Mermaid Island" 1998 Tales of the South Seas Isabelle Reed Main role"Fantasy island; Teletopics" by Rachel Browne, The Sun-Herald (2 Jan 2000) [Late Edition] Retrieved from 1999 Tribe Lucille Fournier TV miniseries"Actor's getting tribal" The Evening Post (31 Jan 2000) [3rd Edition] Retrieved from 1999–2002 The Lost World Marguerite Krux Main role; 66 episodes 2000 Max Knight: Ultra Spy Ricki / Claire TV filmMax Knight: Ultra Spy review by Ramin Zahed at variety.com 2002 Counterstrike Brittany Cooper TV film 2003 Natalie Turner TV film 2005 Neighbours Gaby Willis "Friends for Twenty Years" 2006–2007 Mortified Glenda Fry Recurring role 2010 Sea Patrol Fiona Douglas "Ransom" 2010 Accord'n to Jordyn Jordyn's Mum Unsold TV pilot 2013 Reef Doctors Megan "1.9"2025Darby and Joan Lorene Tait"2.5"

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