• LEADING WOMAN • By Man magazine team
Getting to know Rachel Zawadi Luttrell Frustrated with some of the roles being offered to her at the time, she was considering giving up on her acting career, and enrolling in UCLA to study architecture. She ventured to the UK instead and studied at the British American Drama Association on a midsummer course at Balliol College,Oxford. Shortly after her return to Los Angeles Rachel was cast in her most high-profile role to date, as Teyla Emmagan on Stargate Atlantis. Rachel Luttrell has two younger sisters, Erica Luttrell, who is also an actress and Amanda Luttrell Garrigus who is an on air personality for fashion and entertainment.
She sings soprano.
Born in Lushoto, Tanzania, the daughter of Veronica Makihio Shenkunde Luttrell from the Usambara region and Dr. William Leon Luttrell from Bossier City, Louisiana. She is one of four daughters. Her family emigrated from Tanzania to Canada when she was five years old, and she was raised in Toronto. She studied ballet at the Russian Academy of Classical Ballet School and also studied piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Luttrell is married to Loyd Bateman, and they have a son, Caden Dar Bateman, born 10 October 2007, and a daughter, Ridley Asha Bateman, born 5 October 2012. In 2011 Rachel released her debut Jazz album “I Wish You Love”, which was produced by Austrian record producer Gerrit Kinkel and features Jazz greats like Jeff Hamilton, Jennifer Leitham,Graham Dechter and Konrad Paszkudzki.
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She is a licensed bartender. She was considered for the role of Storm in X-Men She has been quoted saying “I have been acting since I was in high school. Perhaps even before then if you count all the times I “acted” like I was sick in grade school to get out of going, (those were some of my best performances). Happily, I have worked fairly consistently; however, the audition process (necessary to getting work) has never been one that I have enjoyed. My shyness can sometimes make me quite nervous. Surmounting that obstacle again and again has in itself made getting work slightly less than “easy”.