Rachel Blanchard
About
Biography
Biography
Actress Rachel Blanchard parlayed her gift for portraying the offbeat, even dark side of innocuous or flighty girls and women on television comedies like "Clueless" (ABC/UPN, 1996-99), "Flight of the Conchords" (HBO, 2007-09) and "You Me Her" (Audience Network, 2016- ). Born Rachel Louise Blanchard on March 19, 1976 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she began acting at an early age, appearing in television commercials and in a recurring role on the well-loved CBC children's series "The Kids of Degrassi Street" (1979-1986) in 1984. Over the next decade, Blanchard worked steadily in Canadian television content, enjoying recurring roles on "War of the Worlds" (syndicated, 1988-1990) and as the ghost story aficionado Kristen on "Are You Afraid of the Dark" (YTV/Nickelodeon, 1990-96, 1999-2000). She continued acting into her teenaged years while also completing her high school studies at the all-girls school Havergal College, and briefly considered a career in psychology while attending Queen's University. However, she left the school before graduating to focus on her acting career, which reached a peak in 1996 when she was cast in "Clueless." Based on the 1995 film of the same name - which itself was based on Jane Austen's "Emma" - the series followed the continuing high school adventures of Cher Horowitz, played by Alicia Silverstone in the film and Blanchard in the series. The broad comedy ran for a season on ABC before moving to UPN for its final two years, and afforded Blanchard other opportunities in teen-oriented projects. She Blanchard settled into a two-year recurring role on "7th Heaven" as a police officer teamed with Geoff Stults' Kevin Kinkirk, and parlayed her comic talents into a string of modestly popular features, including "Road Trip" (2000), "Sugar & Spice" (2001) and "Without a Paddle" (2004), playing sweet, often befuddled young women along the lines of Cher Horowitz. She attempted to break free of this character type with turns as a murdered journalist linked to comedy team Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth in Atom Egoyan's thriller "Where the Truth Lies" (2005) and in the campy horror film "Snakes on a Plane" (2006), but television comedy remained her best showcase. Blanchard netted a Golden Nymph from the Television Festival of Monte Carlo for her turn as the sexually unrestrained girlfriend of slacker Robert Webb on the long-running British series "Peep Show" (Channel 4, 2003-2015), and played Sally, a woman who comes between eccentric bandmates Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie on the pilot episode of "Flight of the Conchords" (HBO, 2007-09). Two years later, she won a Gemini for her turn as a brain-damaged woman who becomes involved with Jason Priestley's morally bankrupt hero on "Call Me Fitz" (HBO Canada/Movie Central/Movie Network, 2010-13). More comic work, including a recurring role as ex-beauty queen Kitty Nygaard on the debut season of "Fargo" (FX, 2014- ), and guest appearances on critically praised comedy series like "Childrens Hospital" (The WB.Com/Adult Swim, 2010-15) and "Another Period" (Comedy Central, 2015- ), preceded her return to series work with "You Me Her, " a U.S.-Canadian comedy about a couple (Blanchard and Greg Poehler) who find themselves in a polyamorous relationship after Blanchard falls in love with an escort (Priscilla Faia) she hired to boost Poehler's sex drive.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1986
TV-movie debut in "Alex: The Life of a Child" (ABC)
1988
Was regular on syndicated series "War of the Worlds"
1990
Began recurring role on "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
1991
Made film debut in "On My Own," opposite Judy Davis
1993
Appeared in multiple episodes of "Criss Cross" (Showtime)
1995
Co-starred in Canadian feature film "Young Ivanhoe"
1996
Starred as teenager Cher Horowitz in series version of "Clueless"
1999
Had featured role in "The Rage: Carrie 2"
2000
Played the girlfriend of Breckin Meyer in the comedy "Road Trip"
2001
Cast as a cheerleader turned bank robber, in the dark comedy "Sugar & Spice"
2002
Joined the cast of the WB's family drama "7th Heaven"
2004
Cast in the comedy "Without a Paddle"
2005
Portrayed the ill-fated, Maureen opposite Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth in Atom Egoyan's "Where the Truth Lies"
2006
Co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson in the summer thriller, "Snakes on a Plane"
2010
Won Gemini Award for playing a party girl suffering from brain damage on "Call Me Fitz"
