Rachael Crawford

Rachael Crawford (born 1969) is an actress best known for her roles in Brewster Place, Here and Now, and Show Me Yours, as well as guest appearances on various television series such as Cold Squad, Crossing Jordan, and more recently The Firm and Suits. Throughout her career, Crawford has received three Canadian Screen Award nominations.

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."