Rachelle Marie Lefevre (born February 1, 1979) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role of Victoria in the 2008 film Twilight, based on the novel written by Stephenie Meyer.
Early life
Lefevre (pronounced /ləˈfɛv/) was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her father is an English teacher, and her mother, a psychologist.[1] She has three sisters and speaks both English and French;[2] while her father's family is originally from France, Lefevre grew up mostly speaking English.[3] Lefevre attended Centennial Academy, a private high school, and later studied creative arts at Dawson College.[4] She studied theater for two summers at the Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts, and began a degree in education and literature at McGill University.[5]
Career
While working as a waitress at a sushi bar in Westmount, a regular customer helped Lefevre get an audition for the television sitcom Student Bodies. She didn't yet have a head shot, so submitted a Polaroid picture.[6] She didn't land the part but got a call back from the casting director, leading to a role in the Canadian television series Big Wolf on Campus in 1999, playing Stacey Hanson.[5] Lefevre finished her degree at McGill, attending semesters between shoots.[7]
Lefevre appeared in the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, directed by George Clooney, in 2002. She appeared in the television movies Picking Up and Dropping Off with Scott Wolf, and See Jane Date, and had a role in the romantic comedy Hatley High in 2003. In 2004, she played Etta Place in the Calgary-filmed TV movie The Legend of Butch and Sundance. Lefevre moved to West Hollywood, California that year and appeared in the films Noel, directed by Chazz Palminteri and starring Penélope Cruz, and Head in the Clouds, also starring Cruz and Charlize Theron. In April 2004, Lefevre filmed the mystery-thriller The River King in Halifax, opposite Edward Burns.[5]
Lefevre starred on the Fox sitcom Life on a Stick in 2005, playing Lily Ashton, a mall fast-food restaurant employee, and then appeared on the Fox series Pool Guys. She has guest starred on numerous other television series, including: Charmed, playing Olivia Callaway on the episode "Love's a Witch", and on the fifth season of Undressed, playing Annie Isles. Lefevre was cast as Annie Cartwright, the female lead in Life on Mars, a David E. Kelley remake of the original British TV series. She shot a pilot episode, but was replaced by Gretchen Mol when the series was revamped.[8]
In 2009, she appeared in the CBC television miniseries The Summit, filmed in Ontario, and completed the film Casino Jack, starring Kevin Spacey.[9] Lefevre will appear in Barney's Version, a film adaptation of the award-winning Canadian novel by Mordecai Richler. Lefevre plays Clara, an artist and the first wife of protagonist Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti). Lefevre filmed her scenes in Rome in August 2009. The production will continue on location in Montreal and New York.[10] Lefevre will star in the period piece VK, with Adrien Brody and Isabelle Adjani. The film will tell the story of Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen, a Hungarian inventor who built The Turk, a chess playing machine, in the late 18th century. Directed by Pierre Gill, Lefevre will play Annette, the wife of the Baron (played by Brody).[11]
[edit] Twilight
Lefevre plays the renegade vampire Victoria in the film Twilight (2008), based on the novel of the same name by Stephenie Meyer. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film was shot mostly in and around Portland, Oregon.[12] Lefevre wrote an impassioned letter to the director, explaining her desire to work with the filmmaker.[13] Lefevre described the essence of her character as "pure evil, pure instinct, pure malice, and very feline".[14] After reading that the author used the word "feline" to describe her character's agility, Lefevre watched lion attacks on YouTube to separate the movements of her character from those of normal people.[15] She also took trapeze classes in preparation for the wire work in the film.[13] Lefevre spent hours working on her costumes for her character in the film, and described herself as "obsessed" with vampires after reading Bram Stoker's Dracula at the age of 14.[16]
Lefevre has at times been overwhelmed by the scrutiny she has received from her involvement with Twilight. She participated in a promotional tour in November 2008, where she met and signed autographs for Twilight fans at Hot Topic stores in the U.S..[17] "It's the closest I will ever come in my life to being a rock star," she told The Canadian Press, describing an appearance on MuchMusic, where over 1,500 fans showed up in Toronto.[18] Over 2,500 fans showed up at a Wal-Mart in Salt Lake City, where Lefevre appeared to promote the DVD release of the film.[19] Overall though, Lefevre describes herself as delighted by the attention and excitement of the fans.[18] She will appear in the film's sequel, based on Meyer's second novel, New Moon.[13] She completed shooting the film in Vancouver in May 2009.
Lefevre will not reprise her role of Victoria in Eclipse, the third film of the Twilight series, but will be replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard. Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the films, attributed the change to scheduling conflicts; Barney's Version and Eclipse both begin filming on 17 August 2009.[20] Lefevre responded that she was "stunned" by the decision and "greatly saddened" not to continue her portrayal of Victoria, and never thought she would "lose the role over a 10 day overlap", in a statement to Access Hollywood.[21] The studio responded in a statement, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is an ensemble production that has to accommodate the schedules of numerous actors while respecting the established creative vision of the filmmaker and most importantly the story."[22] Lefevre appeared at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con to promote New Moon the weekend before.[23] Enthusiastic fans of the series reacted to the news with online petitions urging Lefevre's return, and "Bring Back Rachelle" became a top-trending topic on Twitter in the afternoon of 29 July 2009.[22] Lefevre told Extra that she was "absolutely blown away" by support from fans, who also made her a tribute video on YouTube.[24]
Personal life
Lefevre lives in Los Angeles, California. As of June 2009, she was dating Jamie Thomas King, an actor from the Showtime television series The Tudors.[9] Lefevre donates US$100 to Susan G. Komen for The Cure, a breast cancer charity, for every 10,000 people who follow her on Twitter. She also launched an eBay auction for the charity School On Wheels in August 2009, which provides tutoring to homeless children in Southern California. Lefevre sold t-shirts and other merchandise signed by her fellow cast members from Twilight.[25]
Filmography
TV Projects
Year Title Character Notes
1999 Big Wolf on Campus Stacey Hanson 22 episodes
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Katrina Van Hassle TV film
2000 The Hunger Smallpox Woman 1 episode
2002 Bliss Marine 1 episode
Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension Tyreena 1 episode
Undressed Annie Isles 6 episodes
2003 Largo Winch Catarina 1 episode
See Jane Date Eloise TV film
Charmed Olivia Callaway 1 episode
Picking Up & Dropping Off Georgia TV film
2004 Petits mythes urbains Receptionist #1 1 episode
The Legend of Butch & Sundance Etta Place TV film
2005 Pool Guys Alana TV film
Life on a Stick Lily 13 episodes
Bones Amy Morton 1 episode
2006 Veronica Mars Marjorie 1 episode
The Class Sue 2 episodes
Four Kings Lauren 2 episodes
What About Brian Heather 11 episodes
2007 How I Met Your Mother Sarah 1 episode
The Closer Michelle Morgan 1 episode
CSI: NY Devon Maxford 1 episode
2008 Boston Legal Dana Strickland 3 episodes
Life on Mars Annie Cartwright Unaired pilot
Swingtown Melinda 5 episodes
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Kumari 1 episode
Eli Stone Candance Bonneville 1 episode
The Summit Leonie Adderly 2 episodes
2009 Do You Know Me Elsa Carter/Sophie Marsaretti TV film
Better Off Ted Rebecca 2 episodes
The Deep End
Film
Year Film Role Notes
2000 Stardom Catherine
2001 Life in Balance Kristy Carswell
Dead Awake Randi Baum
2002 Abandon Eager Beaver
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Tuvia, Age 25
2003 Deception Denise Straight-to-DVD
Hatley High Hyacinthe Marquez
2004 The Big Thing Sarah
Head in the Clouds Alice
Noel Holly
2005 The River King Carlin Leander
Pure Julie
2007 Suffering Man's Charity Elaine
Fugitive Pieces Naomi
2008 Prom Wars Sabina
Twilight Victoria
2009 The Pool Boys Laura Completed
The Twilight Saga: New Moon Victoria Completed
2010 Casino Jack Emily Post-production
Barney's Version Clara Filming
Subiect: About Rachelle 
