Rachel Luttrell Stargate Atlantis

The leader of a now primitive but once technologically advanced community on the planet Athos in the Pegasus galaxy, Teyla Emmagan befriends the Stargate Atlantis Expedition and serves as their alien liaison. With her rare ability to sense the Wraith`s presence, she is an invaluable ally in the fight against the Atlantis Expedition`s primary enemy.

Born in Tanzania, East Africa, Rachel Luttrell immigrated to Canada at the age of 5. One of four daughters in an exceptionally musical family, she is an accomplished actor, singer and dancer. She studied ballet at the prestigious Russian Academy of Classical Ballet School and studied piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music. Her father, a member of the internationally acclaimed Mendelssohn Choir, trained her soprano voice.

Luttrell`s professional stage debut began with the Toronto premiere production of Miss Saigon. She was subsequently cast in the Toronto production of Beauty and the Beast. Her other stage work includes the world premiere of Lynn Nottage`s Las Meninas at the San Jose Rep, for acclaimed director Michael Edwards. She also participated in the workshop production of Great Expectations for Richard Jay Alexander.

Among her other notable roles are Lizzie, in the challenging musical Goblin Market (ACT in Seattle), and Erzulius in Once on This Island (at the La Mirada Theater in California). She recently spent a summer studying Shakespeare at Oxford University with the British/American Drama Association, in the prestigious President Group.

On television, Luttrell has appeared on ER, Charmed and Touched by an Angel. She played the lead role of Lisette in the Anne Rice miniseries Feast of All Saints. Luttrell was also a series regular on the long-running hit Canadian television drama Street Legal. Her other guest-starring roles include Sleepwalkers, In the House, Dogs and The Damon Wayans Show. Her feature-film credits include The Impostor and the independent films The Aviary, House and the Genie-nominated Joe`s So Mean to Josephine.

More recently, Luttrell made a key cameo appearance in David Hewlett`s comedic writing-and-directing debut feature film, A Dog`s Breakfast.