Rachael Crawford

Career

Crawford began her acting career in the mid-1980s. She portrayed Renee, a teenage cousin of Mr. T's character, in crime drama T. and T. Crawford won the role of Kiswana Browne in the Oprah Winfrey produced series Brewster Place (1990), replacing Robin Givens who portrayed the character in The Women of Brewster Place. Crawford appeared regularly as college student Danielle in the sitcom Here and Now.

She appeared in various television movies during the 1990s. Crawford played the lead role of Tai Babilonia in biopic On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story. In 1996's Captive Heart: The James Mink Story, Crawford appeared as Myra Mink, a young black woman in the 1850s who becomes enslaved by her husband, a white man. James Mink was played by Louis Gossett Jr. She worked with Gossett again the following year, with In His Father's Shoes.

Crawford made her feature film debut in 1995's Rude as Maxine, a woman who chooses to have an abortion after ending a relationship with her boyfriend. She received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for her performance in this film. Crawford portrayed Petra, a circus performer who dates the female protagonist, in the 1995 film When Night is Falling. Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised Crawford's performance, believing she and co-star Pascale Bussières were an "appealing" couple. Another reviewer found the movie too "lowkey," but felt Crawford's character added "fascination" to the film.

Her other film work includes Curtis's Charm (1996) and Pale Saints (1997), being nominated for her second Canadian Screen Award for the latter. She was a main cast member on drama Traders as Niko Bach from 1998 to 2000. Crawford earned her third Canadian Screen Award nomination in 2000 for her work on the series.

During the 2000s, Crawford guest starred on science fiction series Mutant X and appeared as Dara Vann in The Man (2005). She portrayed Diane Haughton, the mother of Aaliyah, in Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014). She had a regular role on drama series This Life as Danielle, the lead character's best friend, from 2015 to 2016. Crawford then played Crack in Brown Girl Begins (2017), a role one film critic found "chilling."

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. (1990-05-07). "New York Magazine". New York Media, LLC.
2. O'Connor, John J.. (1990-05-01). "Review/Television; Show About Black People, With Winfrey in Charge". The New York Times.
3. Williams, Dawn P.. (2002). "Who's who in Black Canada: Black Success and Black Excellence in Canada : a Contemporary Directory, 2002". Who's Who in Black Canada.
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5. Zuckerman, Faye. (May 1, 1990). "Oprah put in new 'Place'". [[Star-News]].
6. Burlingame, Jon. (May 1, 1990). "'Brewster Place' avoids serious issues". [[The Spokesman-Review]].
7. Leszczak, Bob. (August 31, 2018). "Single Season Sitcoms of the 1990s: A Complete Guide". [[McFarland & Company]].
8. Storm, Jonathan. (September 15, 1992). "Seven new faces to make a mark". [[Reading Eagle]].
9. Burlingame, Jon. (November 5, 1990). "'On Thin Ice': Skating champion bounces back after nasty fall". [[Boca Raton News]].
10. Pierce, Scott D.. (April 12, 1996). "True or not, 'Captive Heart' is a good made-for-TV movie". [[The Deseret News]].
11. Brennan, Patricia. (April 13, 1996). "Beloved daughter ends up a slave". [[Star-News]].
12. Bobbin, Jay. (June 13, 1997). "Louis Gosset, Jr. continues to work and improve after 45 years". [[The Vindicator]].
13. (2006). "Working on Screen". [[University of Toronto Press]].
14. (November 7, 1995). "Nominees for the 1995 Genie Awards". [[Canadian Press]].
15. Peary, Gerald. (December 29, 1995). "Film strips". [[The Boston Phoenix]].
16. Holden, Stephen. (February 6, 1996). "'Night Is Falling' erotic, but uneven". [[Gainesville Sun]].
17. Paseman, Lloyd. (January 19, 1996). "'Night is Falling' never wakes up". [[Eugene Register-Guard]].
18. (1998). "Screen World 1997". [[Applause Books]].
19. (December 8, 1998). "Two films lead Genie pack". [[Waterloo Region Record]].
20. (September 19, 2000). "Here are the nominees for the 15th annual Gemini Awards". [[Canadian Press]].
21. Muir, John Kenneth. (August 21, 2008). "The encyclopedia of superheroes on film and television". [[McFarland & Company]].
22. (2006). "Screen World Film Annual". [[Hal Leonard Corporation]].
23. (November 15, 2014). "'Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B': TV Review".
24. Kelly, Brendan. (June 1, 2015). "Torri Higginson finds a home in Nouvelle adresse's English remake, This Life".
25. Shearer, Andrew. (January 3, 2019). "Film Review: 'Brown Girl Begins' brings ambition, light to sci-fi dystopia".