Rachael Leigh Cook

Rachael Leigh Cook is an American actress and model. Born on October 4, 1979, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she is best known for her roles in feature films such as The Baby-Sitters Club, She's All That, and Josie and the Pussycats, as well as television series including Into the West and Perception. In addition to her live-action acting, Cook has worked extensively as a voice actress, voicing Tifa Lockhart in the Final Fantasy franchise and contributing to animated series such as Robot Chicken.

Cook was born to Thomas Howard Cook, a social worker and former stand-up comedian, and JoAnn Cook, a cooking instructor and weaver. She is of English and Italian descent and grew up alongside her younger brother, Ben. Her education included Clara Barton Open School, Laurel Springs School, and Minneapolis South High School. Cook began her public career at age seven in a foster care public service announcement, and at age ten, she began working as a child print model for Target advertisements and Milk-Bone dog biscuit packaging.

At age fourteen, Cook began auditioning for acting roles. She made her feature film debut in 1995 in The Baby-Sitters Club and appeared in Tom and Huck later that year. After starring in the 1996 short film 26 Summer Street and the 1997 drama Country Justice, Cook achieved her breakout success in the 1999 romantic comedy She's All That, which became the most financially successful film of her career. She followed this with roles in The Bumblebee Flies Anyway and the 2001 film Josie and the Pussycats.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Cook appeared in various film and television projects. Her film credits include 11:14, Nancy Drew, The Final Season, and Broken Kingdom. On television, she starred in the miniseries Into the West and the crime drama Perception, alongside guest appearances on Psych and Criminal Minds. Cook also established a voice-acting career, voicing Chelsea Cunningham in Batman Beyond, Tifa Lockhart across several Final Fantasy projects, and characters in video games such as Star Wars: The Old Republic and Yakuza.

In 2016, Cook began starring in made-for-TV movies for the Hallmark Channel, including Summer Love, Autumn in the Vineyard, and Summer in the Vineyard. In 2017, she developed, executive produced, and starred in the Hallmark movie Frozen in Love. Cook also established her own production company, Ben's Sister Productions, named in reference to her brother. Through her company, she produced and starred in the romantic comedy Love, Guaranteed, which debuted on Netflix in 2020.

Cook gained national attention in 1997 starring in a prominent "This Is Your Brain on Drugs" public service announcement, a role she reprised twenty years later for the Drug Policy Alliance. In 2011, she was named a Champion of Change for Arts Education by the Obama administration, and in 2012, she launched a student scholarship program. Cook was married to actor Daniel Gillies from 2004 until their divorce in 2021, and they have two children together. She is a vegetarian.