Biography for
Rachel Miner More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

29 July 1980, New York City, New York, USA

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

Rachel Miner wanted to be an actress from age two. She began working with an acting coach at eight, got an agent at nine and, by ten, had not only worked for Woody Allen, but was cast as "Michelle Bauer" on "Guiding Light" (1952) (a part that started as recurring and evolved into a contract role lasting nearly five years (1990-1995) and earning her three Young Artist Awards and an Emmy nomination). Born into a show business family, she represents the third generation of Miners to take to the theatre, film and television. Her father, Peter Miner is an Emmy winning director and noted NYC acting and directing teacher, her mother is a writer and Off-Off Broadway director. Her grandparents were producer/director Worthington Miner and actress Frances Fuller. Her brother is the former actor Peter Miner. In addition to her film and television work, Rachel has several noteworthy theatrical credits. At fourteen, she appeared in Laura Cahill's "The Way at Naked Angels" (1994). She made her Broadway debut at seventeen, playing "Margo Frank" to Natalie Portman's Anne in Wendy Kesselman's adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1996/97), directed by James Lapine. She originated the role of "Rivkele" in Donald Margulies' adaptation of Sholom Asch's "God of Vengeance" (2000), directed by Gordon Edelstein at ACT in Seattle. She also originated the role of "Sandy" in Rebecca Gilman's "Blue Surge" (2001), directed by Robert Falls at The Goodman Theatre in Chicago (and reprised in 2002 at The Public Theatre in NYC).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Macaulay Culkin

(21 June 1998 - 5 August 2000) (divorced)

Trivia

Announced engagement to Macaulay Culkin. [30 March 1998]

During the Boston Debut of "Diary of Anne Frank," her leg was broken in a car accident while she was crossing the street. Understudy temporarily filled in.

Ended up on the cutting room floor of the 1992 sci-fi movie Freejack (1992) (which starred Emilio Estevez, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins).

As a child actress in NYC, Rachel studied with noted children's acting coach Karen Leigh Anthony.

Is a vegetarian, dating back at least as far as her days on "Guiding Light" (1952).

Though her credit for Woody Allen's Alice (1990) reads "Alice at 12 years," she was only 9 when the movie was filmed.

Ex-daughter-in-law of Christopher Culkin.

Ex-sister-in-law of Kieran Culkin, Christian Culkin, Dakota Culkin, Quinn Culkin, Rory Culkin and Shane Culkin.

Is BI-coastal, living and working in both New York City and Los Angeles in recent years.

Has three half brothers and one half sister, all of whom have acted either on film and television or on stage.

Personal Quotes

Basically, I get paid to be crazy. I get paid to believe I'm someone else, live in a completely false reality, and believe it's real. And that's a little scary. And I do it to the best of my ability. But it's kind of like swimming out to sea. You have to leave enough energy to swim back, and sometimes you get scared you swam too far.

I was a little adult for my age as a teenager, and I didn't feel like I socially fit in with my peers. While I was talking about how awesome "Twin Peaks" (1990) was, the other kids were raving about "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990).

His [Brad Renfro's] enthusiasm and openness were contagious. He made mistakes, but he deserves to be remembered for more than that. He was one of the most genuine, caring and talented people I've ever known. Amazingly sharp. Sometimes a goof-ball. Loved to make you laugh.

Ultimately, the marriage [to Macaulay Culkin] was a choice made with our hearts, not with our heads.

I'm not cool, quite the opposite. I'm a real geek.

I've done teaching and things like that because if you're acting, you're becoming other human beings, and you need to have time to find who you are as well.

[about her participation in "The Diary of Anne Frank"] We did [a pre-Broadway run] in Boston and I was hit by a car. So, I missed the opening and the couple of months of the show in New York. No one has said "Break a leg" to me ever since.

[interview with Virgil T. Parker] I think the most important aspect of working a character is the empathy that you were discussing. I think that you don't have to like the person or agree with the person as an audience or an actor, but you certainly have to understand them fully.