Rachael Taylor hails from the island of Tasmania, off the coast of mainland Australia. With her pretty, natural looks, she started out as a teenage model with the Skye-Jilly International agency, and also entered the Miss Teen Tasmania and Miss Universe/Miss World state finals.
At the urging of her college English professor/modeling agent, Rebecca Miller, Taylor relocated to Sydney to advance her modeling and acting careers. During this time, she entered the University of Sydney to study history and politics.
Taylor made her acting debut in 2004, appearing as Maryann Marinkovich in the Peter Bogdanovich-directed TV movie The Mystery of Natalie Wood, which was filmed in Sydney. In 2005, she was featured as Catherine Oxenberg in another U.S.-produced telefilm shot Down Under: Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure. That same year she costarred as Teri Richards in the gory sci-fi flick Man-Thing, made a guest appearance on the Aussie series McLeod's Daughters, and played the Sphinx in the TV movie Hercules.
Taylor left her studies after landing a regular role on the Australian soap opera Headland, which debuted in the fall of 2005. The part of Sasha Forbes afforded the actress her first opportunity to speak on-screen using her native accent. The series ended its run in February 2006, and despite the fact that the show was off the air for a couple of months, she earned a Logie Award as Most Popular New Female Talent that spring. In May, she appeared as Zoe in the horror movie See No Evil.
Taylor got her big break when she landed the role of Maggie Madsen in Michael Bay's Transformers, one of the most anticipated films of 2007. Despite mixed reviews, the action-packed flick cleaned up at the box office, helping to increase her profile immensely.
She was cast in the 2007 thriller The Tourist with Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman, and in a remake of the Thai horror movie Shutter (2008).
At the urging of her college English professor/modeling agent, Rebecca Miller, Taylor relocated to Sydney to advance her modeling and acting careers. During this time, she entered the University of Sydney to study history and politics.
Taylor made her acting debut in 2004, appearing as Maryann Marinkovich in the Peter Bogdanovich-directed TV movie The Mystery of Natalie Wood, which was filmed in Sydney. In 2005, she was featured as Catherine Oxenberg in another U.S.-produced telefilm shot Down Under: Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure. That same year she costarred as Teri Richards in the gory sci-fi flick Man-Thing, made a guest appearance on the Aussie series McLeod's Daughters, and played the Sphinx in the TV movie Hercules.
Taylor left her studies after landing a regular role on the Australian soap opera Headland, which debuted in the fall of 2005. The part of Sasha Forbes afforded the actress her first opportunity to speak on-screen using her native accent. The series ended its run in February 2006, and despite the fact that the show was off the air for a couple of months, she earned a Logie Award as Most Popular New Female Talent that spring. In May, she appeared as Zoe in the horror movie See No Evil.
Taylor got her big break when she landed the role of Maggie Madsen in Michael Bay's Transformers, one of the most anticipated films of 2007. Despite mixed reviews, the action-packed flick cleaned up at the box office, helping to increase her profile immensely.
She was cast in the 2007 thriller The Tourist with Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman, and in a remake of the Thai horror movie Shutter (2008).