Best Known As: The star of the movie She's All That
Rachael Leigh Cook was a hit in the 1999 teen romance She's All That, playing the ugly duckling transformed by Freddie Prinze, Jr.. Her first feature role was in 1995's The Baby-Sitters Club and she later appeared in The House of Yes (1997) and opposite Sylvester Stallone in the 2000 remake of Get Carter. In 2001 she starred as Josie in the movie version of the 1970s cartoon Josie and the Pussycats.
Cook is often said to resemble actress Winona Ryder... Cook is no relation to actress Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Career Highlights: She's All That, Josie and the Pussycats, Nancy Drew
First Major Screen Credit: The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)
Biography
Born October 4, 1979 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the doe-eyed, fine-boned Rachael Leigh Cook has invited frequent comparisons with the young Audrey Hepburn. The actress began her career at the age of ten as a model, and then broke into acting in 1995 with her role as Mary-Ann Spier in The Baby-Sitters Club. Her next memorable appearance was in The House of Yes (1997), where she played the young Parker Posey. Coincidentally, Freddie Prinze Jr., with whom she would later co-star in She's All That, was also in the film, although they had no scenes together.
After The House of Yes, Cook acted in a few forgettable films, the exception being Living Out Loud (1998), in which she played the young Holly Hunter. It was her next film, 1999's She's All That, that garnered her significant attention. As Laney Boggs, Cook went from geek to chic under the tutelage of the most popular boy in school (Prinze Jr.). As the film was essentially billed as an update of My Fair Lady (1964), the comparisons between Cook and Audrey Hepburn seemed particularly apt. Only time will tell if these comparisons extend beyond physical appearance to career trajectory. Taking to the stage (on the screen at least) with her turn in the live adaptation of Josie and the Pussycats, audiences would soon find the attractive actress travelling back in time to the old west in Texas Rangers. An attempt to revive the western from celluloid oblivion, the film documented the true story of the founding of the Texas Rangers and found Cook cast alongside popular actors James Van Der Beek and Oded Fehr. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Cook was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Thomas H. Cook, a social worker and former stand-up comic, and JoAnn, a cooking instructor and weaver. Cook attended school at Clara Barton Open, Laurel Springs School and Minneapolis South High School. She began working as a print model at the age of 10, most notably in nationwide advertisements for Target and appearing on the boxes of Milk-Bone dog biscuits.
Career
At the age of 14, Cook began auditioning for acting work. Her modeling agency sent her to read for a short film, 26 Summer Street (1996). She first gained national attention in 1998, when she was featured in a This Is Your Brain on Drugspublic-service television advertisement, in which she proceeds to destroy a kitchen with a frying pan as she lists the things that heroin harms. Cook made her debut as an actress in the 1995 film The Baby-Sitters Club, which was based on Ann M. Martin's book series of the same name. Her second movie role was in Tom and Huck, where she portrayed Rebecca "Becky" Thatcher. In 1997, Cook appeared in a leading role in the film Country Justice as a 15-year-old rape victim who is impregnated by her rapist.
In 2000, she was the cover girl for the premier issue of FHM US (March/April issue). Cook also provided the voice for Chelsea Cunningham on the Kids' WB animated series Batman Beyond in the episode "Last Resort" and in the animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. In 2002, she was ranked #26 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World".
Cook owns her own production company, Ben's Sister Productions (in reference to her younger brother, an aspiring filmmaker). Cook eventually stepped away from the spotlight to focus on spending time with friends and family. She later returned to mainstream films when she signed on to a new casting agency. Cook was later cast in a role in the big screen adaptation of Nancy Drew, the female lead in the independent sports drama The Final Season, and playing a small supporting lead in Blonde Ambition.
In 2008 she guest-starred in a episode of the USA Network series Psych as Abigail Lytar, an old flame of Shawn Spencer. She returned in the season finale where Abigail and Shawn start dating and has since appeared in many more episodes in the following season.
Cook has appeared in numerous episodes of the Seth Green-created comedies, Titan Maximum and Robot Chicken. Although Robot Chicken featured an episode that parodiedFinal Fantasy VII which involved Tifa Lockhart (a character Cook voiced in Advent Children), in this parody there were no voices, but simply text like in the original game. She has, however, parodied the "This Is Your Brain on Drugs" role she made famous, by proceeding to attack her neighborhood with her frying pan.
