About Rachel
The young English rose

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An unofficial fan biography by fig

Rachel Hurd-Wood wants to be a marine biologist when she grows up. She loves dolphins terribly that the walls of her room are covered not with the faces of cute, hunky actors but of dolphins. However, after nabbing the part of Wendy Darling in P.J. Hogan’s “Peter Pan” from thousands of other hopefuls, producer Lucy Fisher predicted that “her destiny may take her elsewhere...”

Born in August 1990 in London, Rachel lived there until she turned eight and moved to Godalming, Surrey with her father, mother and younger brother Patrick. During second grade, she participated in her first and only theatre production prior to Peter Pan; the only other acting experience she’s ever had was her membership in a school drama club.

One day her grandparents phoned her mother, Sarah, while Rachel was at school and mentioned a T.V. commercial about a casting call for an upcoming project. It said that director P.J. Hogan was looking for a “young English rose” to play opposite Peter Pan. As soon as Rachel arrived home, her mother took her measurements, and finding that she was within the right height, let Rachel audition for Wendy.

On the first audition, all she did was tell a little about herself and get her picture taken. She was called back the second time and given a line to rehearse and speak out. By the third audition, she had to do a reading with Jason Isaacs, who plays Hook in the movie. Though she was very nervous about it, Rachel declares that Jason is “one of the nicest people you’ve ever met.”

When Rachel found out that she got the part, she was sleeping in because her school happened to be closed that day. Good thing it was, because the casting people called her mother early in the morning to deliver the good news. She immediately woke Rachel up and said, “They’ve made [an] offer!”

“I never thought in a million years I would get the part.”

After the search through three continents to find Wendy Moira Angela Darling, she was finally discovered in Rachel.

Although acting is something Rachel would want to do more of, she is set on becoming a marine biologist when she finishes with school. Even Jeremy Sumpter noticed that she loved dolphins so much that he bought her a dolphin necklace.

Rachel’s father, Philip, acts also and does voice-overs for commercials. He writes scripts as well and is currently working on a drama called “A Place in the Country,” which takes place in rural Britain.

Patrick, her younger brother, is 12 years old and was given a part in Peter Pan, too. Looking closely at the casting list, he could be seen as one of the sleeping kids who help bring Tinkerbell back to life.

Rachel likes to listen to hip-hop and R&B and according to her father, she is “a gifted mimic.” Her other hobbies include drawing and ice-skating (which she got a chance to do with Jeremy while visiting in New York).