Rachel Hilson
{{Short description|American actress}}
{{distinguish|Rachel Bilson}}
{{Infobox person
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| name = Rachel Hilson
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| birth_name = Rachel Naomi Hilson
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| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
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| alma_mater = New York University
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- Actress
- writer
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| years_active = 2010–present
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Rachel Naomi Hilson (born October 30, 1995){{Citation needed|date=March 2025}} is an American actress. She started her career in 2010 with a recurring role on the CBS legal drama The Good Wife as Nisa Dalmar. She has also had recurring roles on NBC's Rise and This Is Us and a lead role on the Hulu teen drama Love, Victor.
Early life and education
Rachel Naomi Hilson was born on October 30, 1995, in Baltimore, Maryland to Anita and Robert Hilson.{{cite web |last1=Andreeva |first1=Nellie |last2=Petski |first2=Denise |title='This Is Us' Casts Young & Teen Beth; Carl Lumbly To Play Her Father |url=https://deadline.com/2019/02/this-is-us-carl-lumbly-rachel-naomi-hilson-akira-akbar-join-nbc-drama-1202551493/ |date=February 7, 2019 |website=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=March 5, 2022}} {{cite web |title=Rachel Hilson - Actress |url=https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachel-hilson/ |website=TV Insider |publisher=TVGM Holdings, LLC |access-date=March 5, 2022}} She has a sister named Kimberly.{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Kai |title=Baltimore Teen To Debut On 'The Good Wife' |url=https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2010/11/23/baltimore-teen-to-debut-on-the-good-wife/ |date=November 23, 2010 |website=WJZ-TV |access-date=March 5, 2022}}{{cite news |title=Virginia Lawrence |department=Obituaries |newspaper=Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald |url=https://www.roanoke-chowannewsherald.com/2009/07/28/virginia-lawrence/ |date=July 28, 2009 |access-date=March 5, 2022}}
Hilson began dancing at age 3. While she had many aspirations, her passion for dance stuck. Hilson told Backstage "I dedicated my life to Nutcrackers, spring recitals, dance camps" and recreating scenes from the 2000 movie Center Stage as Eva.{{cite web |last=Hilson |first=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Hilson |title='Love, Victor' Star Rachel Hilson's Secret to Success? Eternal Curiosity |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/love-victor-rachel-hilson-hulu-71100/ |date=July 8, 2020 |magazine=Backstage |access-date=March 9, 2022}} Hilson was discovered by an agent at age 12 and took up acting.{{cite news |last=Fujii |first=Andrea |title=Baltimore Teenager Lands Recurring Role On CBS Hit Series 'The Good Wife' |url=https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/01/16/baltimore-teenager-lands-reoccurring-role-on-cbs-hit-series-the-good-wife/ |date=January 16, 2012 |website=WJZ-TV |access-date=March 6, 2022}} That summer, her mother convinced Hilson to attend the Broadway Artist Alliance in New York. She was then recruited by Nancy Carson of the Carson-Adler Agency, who would later become her agent, to dance in the children's musical series LazyTown. After traveling to Iceland with her mom for the tapings, Hilson signed with Carson a few months later. From there, she auditioned for the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA). At BSA, Hilson continued dancing and acting, but also participated in sports. Hilson credited her high school theater program with helping her overcome her shyness.{{cite news |last=Britto |first=Brittany |title=Baltimore School for the Arts alum to appear in NBC drama 'Rise,' Halle Berry movie 'Kings' |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-insider/bs-fe-rachel-hilson-baltimore-school-for-the-arts-alumna-rise-20180313-story.html |date=March 13, 2018 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |publisher=Tribune Publishing |access-date=March 9, 2022}}
Hilson attended the New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she created her own curriculum.{{cite web |last=Walsh |first=Erin |title=RACHEL HILSON |url=http://www.sbjctjournal.com/2020/07/06/rachel-hilson/ |date=July 6, 2020 |website=sbjct |access-date=March 8, 2022}} Throughout her college career, Hilson performed in several theatre productions including Hamlet. She graduated in 2018 with a concentration in Writing and Performing Race.{{cite web |title=Alumna Rachel Hilson Stars in "Love, Victor" |department=News |url=https://gallatin.nyu.edu/news/2020/06/alumna-rachel-hilson-stars-in--love--victor-.html |date=June 17, 2020 |publisher=NYU Gallatin |access-date=March 8, 2022}} She worked part-time as a bread salesman, even serving actress Lupita Nyong'o at one point.{{cite web |last=Frederick |first=Candice |title='Love, Victor' Star Rachel Hilson Knows That Self-Care Is an Act of Resistance |url=https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/a32963206/rachel-hilson-love-victor/ |date=June 26, 2020 |website=Shondaland |access-date=March 10, 2022}}
Career
Living in Baltimore, Hilson and her mother would take bus rides to New York for auditions. One of the first auditions she he booked was the recurring role of Nisa on The Good Wife when she was 15. Over the next decade, Hilson appeared in episodes of Royal Pains, Elementary, Nurse Jackie, The Affair, Madam Secretary, The Americans, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and First Wives Club.{{cite web |author=Rueben |title=Salute to Rising Stars |url=https://nicegirlstv.com/2020/06/16/salute-to-rising-stars-22/ |date=June 16, 2020 |website=NiceGirlsTV.com |access-date=March 8, 2022}}
Hilson starred opposite Halle Berry in her first feature film, Kings, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. She described the project was a "dream come true". That same year, she had a recurring role as Harmony on NBC's short lived musical drama, Rise.
In 2019, Hilson recurred on This Is Us as the teenage version Beth Pearson, played by Susan Kelechi Watson. In August 2019, Hilson replaced Johnny Sequoyah as Mia in Love, Victor, the sequel to the 2018 film, Love, Simon .{{cite web |last=Petski |first=Denise |title='Love, Simon': Rachel Naomi Hilson Joins Disney+ Series In Recasting |url=https://deadline.com/2019/08/love-simon-rachel-naomi-hilson-disney-plus-series-recasting-1202707751/ |date=August 30, 2019 |website=Deadline Hollywood |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=March 6, 2022}}{{cite web |last=Trapunski |first=Charles |title=INTERVIEW: LOVE, VICTOR'S RACHEL HILSON |url=https://brieftake.com/interview-love-victor-rachel-hilson/ |date=June 18, 2020 |magazine=Brief Take |access-date=March 8, 2022}} {{cite web |last=Dominick |first=Nora |title=Rachel Hilson On Being "Proud" Of Mia In "Love, Victor" Season 2 And How It Was Important Mia "Advocated" For Herself |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/noradominick/love-victor-season-2-interview-rachel-hilson |date=June 14, 2021 |publisher=BuzzFeed |access-date=March 8, 2022}} This was her first role as a series regular.
On August 21, 2021, Hilson joined the cast of HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.{{cite web |last=Otterson |first=Joe |title=Bo Burnham Exits HBO's LA Lakers Series, Five More Added to Cast |url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/bo-burnham-hbo-la-lakers-series-cast-1235045704/ |date=August 21, 2021 |magazine=Variety |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |access-date=March 9, 2022}}
In 2025 she is a co-lead on the Max series Duster opposite Josh Holloway.{{Cite web |last=Hodges |first=Jake |date=2023-05-02 |title='Duster' Cast, Crew, Release Window, and Everything We Know So Far About J.J. Abrams' Crime Series |url=https://collider.com/duster-jj-abrams-release-cast/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=Collider |language=en}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2013
| Cass | Cass Morris | Lead role |
| rowspan="2" | 2017
| Night | Jess | Short film |
| Kings
| Nicole Patterson | Independent film |
| 2019
| As they Slept | Eleanor | Short film |
| 2023
| Nora Holleran | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2010
| Nisa Dalmar | Recurring role: 7 Episodes |
| 2012
| Niece 1 | Episode: "Sand Legs" |
| rowspan="4" | 2015
| Lexi | Episode: "Seed Money" |
| The Slap
| Liz | Episode: "Connie" |
| Nurse Jackie
| Patient | Episode: "Jackie and the Wolf" |
| The Affair
| Student Tour Guide | Episode: "208" |
| 2016
| Becca | Episode: "Higher Learning" |
| 2017
| Linda | Episode: "The Soviet Division" |
| rowspan="2" | 2018
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Tiana Williams | Episode: "Guardian" |
| Rise
| Harmony Curtis | Recurring role: 10 Episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 2019
| Jane | Episode: "Life Is a Cabaret" |
| First Wives Club
| Megan | Episode: "Storytelling" |
| This Is Us
| Beth Clarke | Recurring role: 11 Episodes |
| 2020
| Hailey | Episode: "Backflash" |
| 2020–2022
| Mia Brooks | Series regular |
| 2021
| American Horror Story: Double Feature | Jamie Howard | Main role: 4 Episodes |
| 2022
| Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | Cindy Day | Main role |
| 2025
| Duster | Nina | Main role |
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{IMDb name | id=4188767 | name=Rachel Hilson }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilson, Rachel}}
Category:21st-century African-American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Baltimore
Category:African-American child actresses
Category:American child actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study alumni