Rachel Redleaf was just 3-years-old when she saw her first play. She loved it and was hooked.
Her mom saw that the theater—Scottsdale’s Desert Stages Theatre—was next auditioning for The Wizard of Oz.
“I went and waited in like a three-block line—this was at [the theater’s] old location in a strip mall—and I auditioned. I got in, and then I never stopped. I was 4 at the time,” Redleaf says.
From there, Redleaf would begin her journey to becoming an in-demand actress, with roles in movies such as Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and the television show Atypical.
“I think I knew it was actually what I wanted to do professionally once I knew it was something you could do professionally, which was probably around age 8, when I saw Wicked,” she says.
Redleaf—who grew up in Scottsdale and graduated from Horizon High School—spent her childhood performing in shows at the Scottsdale’s Desert Stages Theatre and Greasepaint Theater, as well as Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Mesa.
“My parents saw that I had caught the bug and put me in dance lessons and voice lessons,” she shares. “I also did a lot of workshops.”
Although Redleaf was in many shows during those years, some of her favorite roles at Valley theaters included LeFou in Beauty and the Beast, Ursula in The Little Mermaid, and Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, all at Desert Stages Theatre, as well as Paulette in Legally Blonde at Greasepaint.
By the time she was in high school—where she was also involved with Horizon’s show choir—she was spending her summers attending showcases in Los Angeles. She also had an agent, and throughout the year, would fly in for the day for an audition, flying back home that night.
“I did that for two years and they thought I lived there!” she says.
After graduating high school, Redleaf headed to California to attend Chapman University (she graduated in 2019) and pursue an acting career. Since she’d been studying musical theater since she was young, she decided to major in screen acting.
“I had been studying musical theater my whole life and wanted to do something new,” she explains.
And although she loves screen acting, “musical theater is still my first love,” she says, sharing that it’s still a dream of hers to be on Broadway.
Landing Her First Role
It was during her sophomore year of college when she landed her first professional role—Beth Chapin on Netflix’s Atypical.
“I had gotten a call back for the final season of Glee during my senior year of high school, but I didn’t book it,” Redleaf says, “and I hadn’t booked even a commercial. And then I signed with a new manager and I booked Atypical a month later.”
Landing the role of Beth Chapin, she says, was “life-changing.”
“Especially because it was a recurring role, so it was going to be more than one episode. Sometimes it can feel like you get something [that’s one-time] so then you’re just waiting and waiting for the next thing. But I knew this was going to last me a little bit and I was so excited to be part of not just an episode, but part of a family; that I was going to continue with the show,” she explains.
Of her character, Redleaf says, “She’s awesome. She’s really sweet and she makes me feel happy. I have a lot of people who reach out to me to tell me that she brings them joy. And, to be part of a show that means so much to people, about a topic that isn’t represented enough on television or film, makes me very happy that I can be part of that.”
Atypical follows a teen boy, who is on the autism spectrum, as he decides he wants a girlfriend and in his bid for independence.
“[The show] has educated me a lot,” she says. “We’ve done a lot of research and talked to so many people on the spectrum, and we have so many people on the spectrum in the show with us. I’ve learned so much about autism and families and relationships, and I think it’s so beautiful. I love the foundations and everything about it. And, I just feel happy to be part of a show that represents that.”
That first season Redleaf was in four episodes, and since those episodes happened to film during a school break, she was easily able to juggle school and the show.
She would go on to film two more seasons, and although Atypical was picked up for a fourth season, filming is currently on hold due to the pandemic.
Being in a Major Movies
During this time, Redleaf was also cast as Mama Cass in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a Quentin Tarantino film that garnered 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, among its many accolades.
“It was the best time of my entire life—I still pinch myself!” she says. “First of all, working with A-list actors was… it was really cool for them to come up to you and treat you like you’re on their level, because in a way, you were. I got cast in this film with them, and you didn’t feel ‘less than.’ The set was such a family. It’s really gratifying to be able to look back and say I was part of such a legendary film.”
Redleaf has played other roles as well. In fact, three years ago she filmed Kajillionaire, playing Kelli, a pregnant woman. The movie, for which the trailer was just released, went to Sundance, and also features an A-list cast—including actors such as Evan Rachel Wood, Gina Rodriguez, and Debra Winger.
“It should be coming out Sept. 18,” says Redleaf. “I don’t know if it will be streaming or in theaters or how it’s coming out, but it will be coming out this fall. It’s very exciting. And then I have a few other things that are secret right now, but are very, very exciting.”
Off Set
When she’s not acting, Redleaf loves to sing, binge watch TV (Grey’s Anatomy is a favorite show), and spend time with friends. She also enjoys doing makeup, and has a license in special effects makeup.
She’s happy and looking forward to the future, and says that growing up in the Valley helped shape who she is, as well as led to her career.
“Theater in Arizona taught me what I love to do; it taught me that this is what I want to be doing. It taught me my love for the arts. It taught me every happiness I have for it. It taught me what direction is. Also making friends, talking to people, and understanding how to listen to your superiors in that way; [theater] helps you in life too—how to be a creative, just so many things.”