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Rachel Pickup
Pickup, c. 2012
Born	Rachel Pickup (1973-07-15)July 15, 1973 (age 52) London, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994 – present
Parents	Ronald Pickup (father) Lans Traverse (mother)

Rachel Pickup is a British actress, best known for her work on stage. She earned aCritics' Circle Theatre Award nomination for her titular performance in the 2009 revival ofMiss Julie at theRose Theatre Kingston. From 2015-2016 she playedPortia inThe Merchant of Venice oppositeJonathan Pryce asShylock. The pair starred in successive productions atShakespeare's Globe in London,Lincoln Center in New York, andThe Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. before embarking on an international tour.

Throughout her career, Pickup has played most of Shakespeare's heroines in productions on and off theWest End, and with theRoyal Shakespeare Company.

In 1996 Pickup starred as Kaye Bentley in the 10-partBBC miniseriesNo Bananas. In 2015 she co-starred inMichel Franco's filmChronic, which premiered in competition as the68th Cannes Film Festival. Since 2023 she has appeared as Miss Andre on theHBO seriesThe Gilded Age. Her father was British actorRonald Pickup.

Pickup was born inLondon, England to actors Lans Traverse andRonald Pickup.^[1][2] At age 16 she joined theNational Youth Theatre, then under the direction ofEdward Wilson. After three seasons with the company she matriculated to theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art.^[3]

Shortly before graduating fromRADA, Pickup was cast as Kaye BentleyBBC miniseriesNo Bananas.^[1] Later that year she made her professional stage debut inAlan Ayckbourn'sWay Upstream atCrucible Theatre inSheffield. This was followed by a role oppositeAlan Bates inMike Poulton'sFortune's Fool at theChichester Festival Theatre. In 1997 she appeared as Helena inOxford Stage Company's UK tour ofAll's Well That Ends Well, directed byIrina Brook. Then in 1998 she playedIrina inMike Poulton's translation ofThree Sisters, and Fanny inDavid Lodge'sHome Truths at theBirmingham Repertory Theatre. The following year she appeared asOlivia inTerry Hands' production ofTwelfth Night atTheatr Clwyd.^[4][5]

In 2000 Pickup made herOff West End debut as Corrie inNeil Simon'sBarefoot in the Park atJermyn Street Theatre. That year she appeared as Rose Jones inEdward Bond'sThe Sea atChichester Festival Theatre. Then in 2001 she appeared in two productions at Royal Exchange, Manchester, playing Lucienne Vatelin in Georges Feydeau'sThe Fall Guy, and Hazel inJ.B. Priestly'sTime and the Conways. For the later performance Pickup was awarded Best Supporting Actress at the 2002Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards. In 2002, Pickup appeared asCordelia in theEnglish Touring Theatre's production ofKing Lear directed byStephen Unwin. In 2003 the production transferredThe Old Vic inLondon, with Pickup reprising her role.^[2] Later that year she appeared asOphelia inCalixto Bieito's production ofHamlet for theEdinburgh Festival Fringe. For this performance she earned aHerald Angel Award.

From 2004-2006 she appeared in six productions with theRoyal Shakespeare Company, including performances asSilvia inThe Two Gentlemen of Verona,Helen of Troy inTroilus and Cressida,Helena inA Midsummer Night's Dream, andPortia inJulius Caesar. The latter production would transfer to theWest End in 2006. The following year, Pickup would return to theWest End inThe 39 Steps, a parody play adapted from the 1935film of the same name byAlfred Hitchcock. The production would go on to win the 2007Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

From 2008-2009 she appeared in three productions at theRose Theatre Kingston directed bySir Peter Hall, includingLove's Labour's Lost,Bedroom Farce, and the titular role inMiss Julie. The later performance earned Pickup a 2009Critics' Circle Theatre Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2010Bedroom Farce transferred to theWest End, where Pickup reprised her role as Susannah.

In 2011, Pickup moved to the United States to appear as Lady Chilternin theShakespeare Theatre Company's production ofAn Ideal Husband byOscar Wilde. Later that same year she made her Off-Broadway debut in theIrish Repertory Theatre's 20th Anniversary production ofBrian Friel'sDancing at Lughnasa. She would go on to appear in four additional productions with the Irish Rep, includingAirswimming byCharlotte Jones,Breath /Play bySamuel Beckett,The Home Place byBrian Friel, andLondon Assurance byDion Boucicault. In 2014, Pickup appeared asGoneril atTheatre for a New Audience, playing oppositeMichael Pennington'sKing Lear. Later that year she played Amanda inDarko Tresnjak's production ofPrivate Lives atHartford Stage. From 2015-2016 she playedPortia inThe Merchant of Venice oppositeJonathan Pryce asShylock. The pair starred in successive productions atShakespeare's Globe in London,Lincoln Center in New York, andThe Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. before embarking on an international tour.

In 2017 Pickup made herBroadway debut inNoël Coward'sPresent Laughter at theSt. James Theatre, understudying the roles Liz Essendine, Monica Reed, and Lady Saltburn. The following year she returned to London to star in theFinborough Theatre's revival ofBut It Still Goes OnbyRobert Graves. In 2019 Pickup appeared inIntelligence a new play by Helen Banner atNew York Theatre Workshop. Later that year she reprised her performance as Amanda Prynne in Noël Coward'sPrivate Lives at the Dorset Theatre Festival. She then returned to London to appear as Eva Ardsley inW. Somerset Maugham'sFor Services Rendered atJermyn Street Theatre. In 2021 Pickup portrayedMiranda inThe Tempest, also atJermyn Street Theatre.

To date, she has appeared in over 50 professional stage productions, on and offBroadway, theWest End, and inRegional Theaters across both sides of the Atlantic.

Pickup is a dual citizen of theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States. She splits her time betweenLondon andNew York City.^[6]

• Official website
• Rachel Pickup atIMDb

• Living people
• Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
• Actresses from London
• Actresses of American descent
• English television actresses
• English people of American descent
• National Youth Theatre members
• 20th-century English actresses
• 21st-century English actresses

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