Rachel Nichols (actress)
Encyclopedia
Rachel Emily Nichols is an American actress and model. Nichols began modeling while attending Columbia University
in New York City in the late 1990s. She transitioned into television and film acting in the early 2000s; she had a bit part in the romantic drama film Autumn in New York
(2000) and a one-episode role in the fourth season of the hit show Sex and the City
(2002).
Her first major role was in the comedy film Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003). She had the main role in the crime drama television series The Inside
(2005), though it was cancelled after one season. Nichols gained recognition playing Rachel Gibson in the final season of the serial action television series Alias
(2005–2006) and for her role in the horror film The Amityville Horror
(2005).
Nichols' first starring film role was in the horror–thriller P2
(2007). She had a supporting role in the coming-of-age film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
(2008) and appeared in Star Trek (2009). She starred in the action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) and the sword and sorcery film Conan the Barbarian (2011).
, to Jim, a schoolteacher, and Alison Nichols. She attended Cony High School
, where she competed in the high jump
. Nichols said in an interview that she was not "the hot chick in high school" and her mother would euphemistically refer to her as a late bloomer', which meant that I had uncontrollable arms and legs, I had very long appendages. I took several years of very highly structured dance classes for me to be able to control myself." Upon graduating in 1998, she enrolled at Columbia University
in New York City, aiming for a career as a Wall Street
analyst. She was noticed by a modeling agent during lunch one day and was invited to work in Paris
; she eventually paid her tuition with the proceeds from her modeling work. She worked on advertising campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch
, Guess?
, and L'Oreal
; she also hosted several MTV
specials. Nichols studied economics and psychology, as well as drama, graduating from Columbia in 2003 with a double major in math and economics.
work and had a bit part as a model in the romantic drama film Autumn in New York
(2000) when her modeling agent helped her get a one-episode role in the fourth season of Sex and the City
(2002). She later said she had "never really done a proper audition before", and added that "I had such fun [filming on set], that day actually made me want to pursue [acting] more seriously." Later that year she was cast in her first major film role as Jessica, a dogged student newspaper
reporter, in Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003). Although the film was panned by critics, making it was a learning experience for Nichols. She said, "I was a sponge for the entire time I was in Atlanta [during filming] and freely admitted that I had no idea what was going on. I had never done a big film before, I had never been the lead in a film before and any advice anyone wanted to give me, I was more than willing to take." The following year, Nichols played a member of a high school debate team in the independent film Debating Robert Lee
(2004) and had a two-episode role in the crime drama television series Line of Fire (2004), which was cancelled after 11 of 13 produced episodes were broadcast. By August 2004, she was cast in supporting roles in the horror films The Amityville Horror
(2005) and The Woods (2006).
In late February 2004, Nichols was cast in a starring role in a then-untitled drama pilot for the Fox Broadcasting Company
(Fox). According to Variety, her character was to be "a DEA
agent who goes undercover at a high school". Todd
and Glenn Kessler
were developing the series, ultimately titled The Inside
. The pilot they produced did not satisfy studio executives, however, and Tim Minear
was brought in to create a new pilot for the series in late September 2004, replacing the Kesslers as executive producer and showrunner. The Inside was originally supposed to air midseason, but the new pilot itself was reshot and the series was pushed back. The new concept made Nichols' character a rookie FBI
agent assigned to the FBI's Los Angeles Violent Crimes Unit. The series premiered in June 2005 and critical reception was mixed; it had been scheduled opposite the popular Dancing with the Stars on ABC, and due to low ratings six of the 13 produced episodes were aired. It was not picked up for further episodes.
Following The Inside, Nichols found work on the fifth season of the serial action series Alias
in 2005, being cast that July. Nichols starred as Rachel Gibson, a computer expert who thought she was working for the CIA
when in fact she was working for a dangerous terrorist organization—a situation similar to that of the series' main character Sydney Bristow
(Jennifer Garner
) the first season. Discovering the truth, Gibson joins the real CIA and becomes Bristow's protégé. Of working on Alias, Nichols said that "to say it's the nicest set on the planet is an understatement". Her role involved multiple fight sequences, as did Garner's. Nichols worked with Garner's personal trainer; she said she "already knew that [Garner's] job was extremely hard. But I didn't know how difficult it was until I started training for just one fight." Nichols was being groomed to replace Garner as the main character due to the latter's pregnancy, which had been written into the storyline. But Alias was cancelled in November 2005, making its fifth season its final. "I think everybody knew that the show wouldn't work without Jennifer", Nichols said, "But still, they were grooming me, so it was heartbreaking when it happened."
She had a small role in the 2005 romantic drama Shopgirl
and played the babysitter of George and Kathy Lutz's children in The Amityville Horror (2005). For the latter role she was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Scream Scene and the MTV Movie Award for Best Frightened Performance. She later revealed that she almost did not audition for the film due to her fear of dogs. "[Producer] Michael Bay
has these gigantic [dogs]. [...] And, when I went to audition for The Amityville Horror, I went into his offices and literally these three huge dogs were there, and I almost turned around. I was like, 'No, I'm not going to read for this film.' I actually used the dogs in my audition to think of what would scare me the most." The Amityville Horror received generally negative reception from critics, but was a commercial success.
(2007), in which she played the assistant to a sportswriter (Josh Hartnett
) who believes he has found a former boxing legend (Samuel L. Jackson
) living homeless on the streets. Also that year, Nichols had a bit part in the fact-based political drama Charlie Wilson's War
(2007) and was cast in a new science fiction drama television series Them
, which was ultimately not picked up by Fox.
Her first starring film role was in the 2007 horror–thriller P2
, in which she played a businesswoman who becomes trapped inside a public parking garage with a deranged security guard. About the dress her character wears for much of the film, Nichols said, "When I read the script originally, it wasn't a dress, it was a small nightgown with no bra or underwear. Then I read the first scene where she gets wet, and I went: 'OK, this has got to be altered! Nichols said in an interview that among the rules established in her contract were: "I will not get wet and show nipples" in addition to no nudity. A bra was sewn into the "Marilyn Monroe dress" she wore in the film. She said, "I wasn't going to run around for two months without a bra, I thought that was inappropriate. But in place of the nipples there's clearly a lot of cleavage. So we made a compromise." P2 was generally disliked by critics. Reviewer James Berardinelli said that her performance was "admirable, although one wonders whether she was cast more for her physical assets than her acting ability." John Anderson of Variety
wrote that "Nichols is in territory well trod over the years by everyone from Fay Wray
and Grace Kelly
to Heather Langenkamp
, the terrified but gutsy heroine, who in this case has been chloroformed and put into a sheer white evening dress by her abductor—who must have anticipated that his captive would try to escape in an elevator, which he could then fill with water. (Nichols' considerable physical attributes, henceforth, seem to occupy most of the screen.) She's sympathetic, hysterical when required and likeable."
Nichols had a supporting role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
(2008), playing a jealous friend of co-star America Ferrera
's character. Overall, the film was well-received by critics. Roger Ebert
commented that Nichols as her character Julia "proves a principle that should be in the Little Movie Glossary: If a short, curvy, sun-kissed heroine [Ferrera] has a tall, thin blond as a roommate, that blond is destined to be a bitch. No way around it." Stephen Holden, writing for The New York Times
, similarly said, "It falls to Ms. Nichols to play the movie's designated blond baddie, a cold, arrogant vixen who tries to undermine [Ferrera's character's] triumphs in romance and onstage." Nichols was cast in Star Trek (2009) in November 2007, but due to the project's secrecy her role was initially unknown even to her; she said that month she did not even know her character's name. It was speculated that she would play Janice Rand
, but she would actually play an Orion cadet at Starfleet Academy
, as revealed by TrekMovie.com the following month.
Nichols was cast as Shana "Scarlett" O'Hara
in the live-action film adaptation of the G.I. Joe
franchise G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) in late 2007. She later said that she accepted director Stephen Sommers
' offer for the role without having read the actual script. "I'd heard from other people that the script was quite good. And then when I finally got to read it myself ... I really, really liked it ... I liked that there were two kick-ass female roles. And I liked the fact that it wasn't just a big action movie ... And there was comedy in it. I was genuinely really happily surprised when I read the script." She put on approximately 15 lbs of muscle for the role and trained in mixed martial arts
with co-star Sienna Miller
for some of the film's action sequences. Nichols was burned by a flame during the filming of a fight scene with Miller. Like The Amityville Horror, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was not well-received by most critics, but performed well at the box office. Richard Corliss of Time
wrote that Nichols had "an appealing manner and comely biceps" as Scarlett O'Hara and took notice of her "savory girl fight with Sienna Miller, as the mostly villainous Baroness."
After G.I. Joe, Nichols' next project was the direct-to-video horror film For Sale by Owner
in which her character was Anna Farrier. Variety reported in October 2009 that Nichols had been cast to star in The Loop, in which she would play "a librarian who joins a highway patrolman to uncover the mysteries behind the cryptic sayings spoken by an ancient parrot." She starred as Leslie Spencer in the 2010 independent crime drama film Meskada, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
and had no domestic distributor as of April 2010. However, the film received a limited release
on December 3, 2010 in the United States. Nichols was cast in the upcoming 3-D sword and sorcery
film Conan the Barbarian by March 2010. She portrays the character of Tamara, who is a master of martial arts and has been trained to be the queen's servant, and she is also the potential Conan
's love interest. The film is set to be released on August 19, 2011. Deadline reported that Nichols has been promoted to a series regular on CBS's Criminal Minds
. On May 28, 2011 Deadline reported Rachel Nichols had been let go from Criminal Minds
.
on July 26, 2008, in Aspen, Colorado
. Nichols allowed her hair to return to its natural blond color for the ceremony, as it had been dyed
red for her consecutive roles in Star Trek and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. She later noted that it was the first time she had ever dyed her hair. They were working on building a home in Cabo San Lucas
shortly after their honeymoon. In February 2009, Nichols and Stuber separated due to irreconcilable differences.
Nichols said in September 2008 that "[t]he modeling shoes have been hung up. We now move on to endorsements."
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City in the late 1990s. She transitioned into television and film acting in the early 2000s; she had a bit part in the romantic drama film Autumn in New York
Autumn in New York (film)
Autumn in New York is a 2000 romantic drama film directed by Joan Chen and starring Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, and Anthony LaPaglia.The movie focuses on Will Keane who falls in love with Charlotte Fielding , a sweet, but terminally ill young woman.-Plot:Will Keane, a 48-year old restaurant owner,...
(2000) and a one-episode role in the fourth season of the hit show Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
(2002).
Her first major role was in the comedy film Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003). She had the main role in the crime drama television series The Inside
The Inside
The Inside is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Minear and Howard Gordon and produced by Imagine Television. The Inside follows the work of the FBI's Los Angeles Violent Crimes Unit , a division dedicated to investigating particularly dangerous crimes. The Inside initially...
(2005), though it was cancelled after one season. Nichols gained recognition playing Rachel Gibson in the final season of the serial action television series Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
(2005–2006) and for her role in the horror film The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror (2005 film)
The Amityville Horror is a 2005 horror film directed by Andrew Douglas. It is a remake of the 1979 film of the same name which itself was based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Jay Anson, which documents the alleged experiences of the Lutz family after they moved into a house in Long Island...
(2005).
Nichols' first starring film role was in the horror–thriller P2
P2 (film)
P2 is a 2007 thriller film directed by Franck Khalfoun, written and produced by Khalfoun, Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur and starring Rachel Nichols and Wes Bentley....
(2007). She had a supporting role in the coming-of-age film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is a 2008 sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The original cast , return to star in the movie, which was directed by Sanaa Hamri...
(2008) and appeared in Star Trek (2009). She starred in the action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) and the sword and sorcery film Conan the Barbarian (2011).
Early life and modeling
Rachel Nichols was born in Augusta, MaineAugusta, Maine
Augusta is the capital of the US state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine. The city's population was 19,136 at the 2010 census, making it the third-smallest state capital after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota...
, to Jim, a schoolteacher, and Alison Nichols. She attended Cony High School
Cony High School
Cony High School is a public school located in Augusta, Maine that educates students from 7th to 12th grade. Cony draws its students from Augusta, as well as the surrounding communities of Chelsea, China, Jefferson, Palermo, Somerville, Vassalboro, Whitefield, and Windsor.The school's origins are...
, where she competed in the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
. Nichols said in an interview that she was not "the hot chick in high school" and her mother would euphemistically refer to her as a late bloomer', which meant that I had uncontrollable arms and legs, I had very long appendages. I took several years of very highly structured dance classes for me to be able to control myself." Upon graduating in 1998, she enrolled at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City, aiming for a career as a Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
analyst. She was noticed by a modeling agent during lunch one day and was invited to work in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; she eventually paid her tuition with the proceeds from her modeling work. She worked on advertising campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22. It has over 300 locations in the United States, and is expanding internationally....
, Guess?
Guess?
Guess is a American clothing line brand. Guess also markets other fashion accessories besides clothes, such as watches, jewelry and perfumes. The company also owns the line Marciano.-Founding:...
, and L'Oreal
L'Oréal
The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...
; she also hosted several MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
specials. Nichols studied economics and psychology, as well as drama, graduating from Columbia in 2003 with a double major in math and economics.
2000–2005
Nichols had done commercialTelevision advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
work and had a bit part as a model in the romantic drama film Autumn in New York
Autumn in New York (film)
Autumn in New York is a 2000 romantic drama film directed by Joan Chen and starring Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, and Anthony LaPaglia.The movie focuses on Will Keane who falls in love with Charlotte Fielding , a sweet, but terminally ill young woman.-Plot:Will Keane, a 48-year old restaurant owner,...
(2000) when her modeling agent helped her get a one-episode role in the fourth season of Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
(2002). She later said she had "never really done a proper audition before", and added that "I had such fun [filming on set], that day actually made me want to pursue [acting] more seriously." Later that year she was cast in her first major film role as Jessica, a dogged student newspaper
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
reporter, in Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003). Although the film was panned by critics, making it was a learning experience for Nichols. She said, "I was a sponge for the entire time I was in Atlanta [during filming] and freely admitted that I had no idea what was going on. I had never done a big film before, I had never been the lead in a film before and any advice anyone wanted to give me, I was more than willing to take." The following year, Nichols played a member of a high school debate team in the independent film Debating Robert Lee
Debating Robert Lee
Debating Robert Lee is a 2004 independent film, directed by Dan Polier and written by Matthew Klein with Polier. It is centered on a group of dysfunctional teens—the debate team at a high school in idyllic Palos Verdes, California...
(2004) and had a two-episode role in the crime drama television series Line of Fire (2004), which was cancelled after 11 of 13 produced episodes were broadcast. By August 2004, she was cast in supporting roles in the horror films The Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror (2005 film)
The Amityville Horror is a 2005 horror film directed by Andrew Douglas. It is a remake of the 1979 film of the same name which itself was based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Jay Anson, which documents the alleged experiences of the Lutz family after they moved into a house in Long Island...
(2005) and The Woods (2006).
In late February 2004, Nichols was cast in a starring role in a then-untitled drama pilot for the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
(Fox). According to Variety, her character was to be "a DEA
DEA
DEA is the commonly used acronym for the Drug Enforcement Administration, a United States law enforcement agency.DEA or Dea may also refer to:- Organizations :* DEA , UK development education charity...
agent who goes undercover at a high school". Todd
Todd A. Kessler
Todd A. Kessler is an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer and director. He is the co-creator and head writer of the FX drama series Damages...
and Glenn Kessler
Glenn Kessler (screenwriter)
Glenn Kessler is an American screenwriter and television producer. Kessler grew up in suburban Detroit suburb and graduated from the Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills in 1988. He is the co-creator and executive producer of the Golden Globe award-winning FX drama series Damages along...
were developing the series, ultimately titled The Inside
The Inside
The Inside is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Minear and Howard Gordon and produced by Imagine Television. The Inside follows the work of the FBI's Los Angeles Violent Crimes Unit , a division dedicated to investigating particularly dangerous crimes. The Inside initially...
. The pilot they produced did not satisfy studio executives, however, and Tim Minear
Tim Minear
Tim Minear is an American screenwriter and director. He was born in New York, grew up in Whittier, California, and studied film at California State University, Long Beach....
was brought in to create a new pilot for the series in late September 2004, replacing the Kesslers as executive producer and showrunner. The Inside was originally supposed to air midseason, but the new pilot itself was reshot and the series was pushed back. The new concept made Nichols' character a rookie FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agent assigned to the FBI's Los Angeles Violent Crimes Unit. The series premiered in June 2005 and critical reception was mixed; it had been scheduled opposite the popular Dancing with the Stars on ABC, and due to low ratings six of the 13 produced episodes were aired. It was not picked up for further episodes.
Following The Inside, Nichols found work on the fifth season of the serial action series Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
in 2005, being cast that July. Nichols starred as Rachel Gibson, a computer expert who thought she was working for the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
when in fact she was working for a dangerous terrorist organization—a situation similar to that of the series' main character Sydney Bristow
Sydney Bristow
Sydney Anne Bristow , played by Jennifer Garner, is the main character and protagonist on the television series Alias. She is an American woman with Russian-American family background who works as a spy for the CIA....
(Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
) the first season. Discovering the truth, Gibson joins the real CIA and becomes Bristow's protégé. Of working on Alias, Nichols said that "to say it's the nicest set on the planet is an understatement". Her role involved multiple fight sequences, as did Garner's. Nichols worked with Garner's personal trainer; she said she "already knew that [Garner's] job was extremely hard. But I didn't know how difficult it was until I started training for just one fight." Nichols was being groomed to replace Garner as the main character due to the latter's pregnancy, which had been written into the storyline. But Alias was cancelled in November 2005, making its fifth season its final. "I think everybody knew that the show wouldn't work without Jennifer", Nichols said, "But still, they were grooming me, so it was heartbreaking when it happened."
She had a small role in the 2005 romantic drama Shopgirl
Shopgirl
Shopgirl is a 2005 American romantic drama film directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Steve Martin is based on his 2000 novella of the same name.-Plot:...
and played the babysitter of George and Kathy Lutz's children in The Amityville Horror (2005). For the latter role she was nominated for the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Scream Scene and the MTV Movie Award for Best Frightened Performance. She later revealed that she almost did not audition for the film due to her fear of dogs. "[Producer] Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
has these gigantic [dogs]. [...] And, when I went to audition for The Amityville Horror, I went into his offices and literally these three huge dogs were there, and I almost turned around. I was like, 'No, I'm not going to read for this film.' I actually used the dogs in my audition to think of what would scare me the most." The Amityville Horror received generally negative reception from critics, but was a commercial success.
2006–present
The Woods, which had been shelved for some 18 months, was released directly-to-video in October 2006. The film opened to favorable reviews and critics acclaimed the individual performances of the actors. Nichols had a small part in the drama film Resurrecting the ChampResurrecting the Champ
Resurrecting the Champ is a 2007 American drama film directed by Rod Lurie and written by Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett, based on the L.A. Times Magazine article by J.R. Moehringer. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett and Alan Alda, among others. It was filmed in Calgary, Alberta,...
(2007), in which she played the assistant to a sportswriter (Josh Hartnett
Josh Hartnett
Joshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...
) who believes he has found a former boxing legend (Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
) living homeless on the streets. Also that year, Nichols had a bit part in the fact-based political drama Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy drama film recounting the true story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with "bare knuckle attitude" CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen in their...
(2007) and was cast in a new science fiction drama television series Them
Them (TV series)
Them is a television drama about a sleeper cell of aliens living within the city of Los Angeles. It is produced by CBS Paramount television, and was ordered to pilot for the 2008 season for the Fox network...
, which was ultimately not picked up by Fox.
Her first starring film role was in the 2007 horror–thriller P2
P2 (film)
P2 is a 2007 thriller film directed by Franck Khalfoun, written and produced by Khalfoun, Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur and starring Rachel Nichols and Wes Bentley....
, in which she played a businesswoman who becomes trapped inside a public parking garage with a deranged security guard. About the dress her character wears for much of the film, Nichols said, "When I read the script originally, it wasn't a dress, it was a small nightgown with no bra or underwear. Then I read the first scene where she gets wet, and I went: 'OK, this has got to be altered! Nichols said in an interview that among the rules established in her contract were: "I will not get wet and show nipples" in addition to no nudity. A bra was sewn into the "Marilyn Monroe dress" she wore in the film. She said, "I wasn't going to run around for two months without a bra, I thought that was inappropriate. But in place of the nipples there's clearly a lot of cleavage. So we made a compromise." P2 was generally disliked by critics. Reviewer James Berardinelli said that her performance was "admirable, although one wonders whether she was cast more for her physical assets than her acting ability." John Anderson of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote that "Nichols is in territory well trod over the years by everyone from Fay Wray
Fay Wray
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
and Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
to Heather Langenkamp
Heather Langenkamp
Heather Langenkamp is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Nancy Thompson from the A Nightmare on Elm Street films...
, the terrified but gutsy heroine, who in this case has been chloroformed and put into a sheer white evening dress by her abductor—who must have anticipated that his captive would try to escape in an elevator, which he could then fill with water. (Nichols' considerable physical attributes, henceforth, seem to occupy most of the screen.) She's sympathetic, hysterical when required and likeable."
Nichols had a supporting role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 is a 2008 sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The original cast , return to star in the movie, which was directed by Sanaa Hamri...
(2008), playing a jealous friend of co-star America Ferrera
America Ferrera
America Georgina Ferrera is an American actress, best known for playing the lead role in the television comedy series Ugly Betty...
's character. Overall, the film was well-received by critics. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
commented that Nichols as her character Julia "proves a principle that should be in the Little Movie Glossary: If a short, curvy, sun-kissed heroine [Ferrera] has a tall, thin blond as a roommate, that blond is destined to be a bitch. No way around it." Stephen Holden, writing for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, similarly said, "It falls to Ms. Nichols to play the movie's designated blond baddie, a cold, arrogant vixen who tries to undermine [Ferrera's character's] triumphs in romance and onstage." Nichols was cast in Star Trek (2009) in November 2007, but due to the project's secrecy her role was initially unknown even to her; she said that month she did not even know her character's name. It was speculated that she would play Janice Rand
Janice Rand
Yeoman Janice Rand, played by Grace Lee Whitney, is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series. She subsequently appears in several Star Trek films and in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager.-Depiction:...
, but she would actually play an Orion cadet at Starfleet Academy
Starfleet Academy
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet Academy is where the future's recruits to Starfleet will be trained. It was created in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets was founded...
, as revealed by TrekMovie.com the following month.
Nichols was cast as Shana "Scarlett" O'Hara
Scarlett (G.I. Joe)
Scarlett is a fictional character from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, a line of military-themed toys created by Hasbro. The character is one of the original members of the fictional team and toy line. She is a major character of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic book series and the...
in the live-action film adaptation of the G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
franchise G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) in late 2007. She later said that she accepted director Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers
Stephen Sommers is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns. He also directed Disney's live action version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, the action/horror film Van Helsing, and the 2009 film G.I...
' offer for the role without having read the actual script. "I'd heard from other people that the script was quite good. And then when I finally got to read it myself ... I really, really liked it ... I liked that there were two kick-ass female roles. And I liked the fact that it wasn't just a big action movie ... And there was comedy in it. I was genuinely really happily surprised when I read the script." She put on approximately 15 lbs of muscle for the role and trained in mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
with co-star Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller
Sienna Rose Diana Miller is a British-American actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2007, the London Film Criticsnamed her British Actress of the Year for Interview...
for some of the film's action sequences. Nichols was burned by a flame during the filming of a fight scene with Miller. Like The Amityville Horror, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was not well-received by most critics, but performed well at the box office. Richard Corliss of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
wrote that Nichols had "an appealing manner and comely biceps" as Scarlett O'Hara and took notice of her "savory girl fight with Sienna Miller, as the mostly villainous Baroness."
After G.I. Joe, Nichols' next project was the direct-to-video horror film For Sale by Owner
For Sale by Owner (film)
For Sale by Owner is a 2009 horror film starring Scott Cooper and Rachel Nichols, with supporting performances by Tom Skerritt, Skeet Ulrich, Frankie Faison, and Kris Kristofferson.-Plot:...
in which her character was Anna Farrier. Variety reported in October 2009 that Nichols had been cast to star in The Loop, in which she would play "a librarian who joins a highway patrolman to uncover the mysteries behind the cryptic sayings spoken by an ancient parrot." She starred as Leslie Spencer in the 2010 independent crime drama film Meskada, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
and had no domestic distributor as of April 2010. However, the film received a limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
on December 3, 2010 in the United States. Nichols was cast in the upcoming 3-D sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
film Conan the Barbarian by March 2010. She portrays the character of Tamara, who is a master of martial arts and has been trained to be the queen's servant, and she is also the potential Conan
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
's love interest. The film is set to be released on August 19, 2011. Deadline reported that Nichols has been promoted to a series regular on CBS's Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
. On May 28, 2011 Deadline reported Rachel Nichols had been let go from Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
.
Personal life
Nichols married film producer Scott StuberScott Stuber
-Biography:Stuber was Co-President of production at Universal Pictures with Mary Parent and in 2004, Stuber and Parent were named Vice Chairman of Worldwide Production for Universal Pictures. In 2005, Universal inked a production deal with the duo under the shingle Stuber/Parent Productions...
on July 26, 2008, in Aspen, Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
. Nichols allowed her hair to return to its natural blond color for the ceremony, as it had been dyed
Hair coloring
Hair coloring is the practice of changing the color of hair. Common reasons are to cover gray hair, to change to a color regarded as more fashionable or desirable, and to restore the original hair color after it has been discolored by hairdressing processes or sun bleaching...
red for her consecutive roles in Star Trek and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. She later noted that it was the first time she had ever dyed her hair. They were working on building a home in Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas , commonly called Cabo, is a city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the municipality of Los Cabos in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,463 people...
shortly after their honeymoon. In February 2009, Nichols and Stuber separated due to irreconcilable differences.
Nichols said in September 2008 that "[t]he modeling shoes have been hung up. We now move on to endorsements."
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Autumn in New York Autumn in New York (film) Autumn in New York is a 2000 romantic drama film directed by Joan Chen and starring Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, and Anthony LaPaglia.The movie focuses on Will Keane who falls in love with Charlotte Fielding , a sweet, but terminally ill young woman.-Plot:Will Keane, a 48-year old restaurant owner,... |
Model at Bar | |
| 2002 | Sex and the City Sex and the City Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes... |
Alexa | Episode: "A 'Vogue' Idea" |
| 2003 | Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd | Jessica | |
| 2004 | Debating Robert Lee Debating Robert Lee Debating Robert Lee is a 2004 independent film, directed by Dan Polier and written by Matthew Klein with Polier. It is centered on a group of dysfunctional teens—the debate team at a high school in idyllic Palos Verdes, California... |
Trilby Moffat | |
| 2004 | Jennifer | Short film | |
| 2004 | Line of Fire | Alex Myer | Episode: "Eminence Front", Part 1 & 2 |
| 2005 | Lisa | Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Frightened Performance Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Scream Scene |
|
| 2005 | Mr. Dramatic Mr. Dramatic Mr. Dramatic is a 2005 American short comedy film. It was directed and written by John Stalberg, Jr..- Cast :* Oliver Hudson ... as Mr. Dramatic* Amy Acker ... as Jodi * Rachel Nichols ... as Girl at Bar* Katharine Towne ... as Elizabeth... |
Girl at Bar | |
| 2005 | Special Agent Rebecca Locke | Television series | |
| 2005 | Shopgirl Shopgirl Shopgirl is a 2005 American romantic drama film directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Steve Martin is based on his 2000 novella of the same name.-Plot:... |
Trey's Girlfriend | |
| 2005–2006 | Alias Alias (TV series) Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006... |
Rachel Gibson | |
| 2006 | Samantha Wise | Direct-to-video | |
| 2007 | Them Them (TV series) Them is a television drama about a sleeper cell of aliens living within the city of Los Angeles. It is produced by CBS Paramount television, and was ordered to pilot for the 2008 season for the Fox network... |
Donna Shaw | Television pilot |
| 2007 | Resurrecting the Champ Resurrecting the Champ Resurrecting the Champ is a 2007 American drama film directed by Rod Lurie and written by Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett, based on the L.A. Times Magazine article by J.R. Moehringer. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett and Alan Alda, among others. It was filmed in Calgary, Alberta,... |
Polly | |
| 2007 | P2 P2 (film) P2 is a 2007 thriller film directed by Franck Khalfoun, written and produced by Khalfoun, Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur and starring Rachel Nichols and Wes Bentley.... |
Angela bridges | |
| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War Charlie Wilson's War Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy drama film recounting the true story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with "bare knuckle attitude" CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen in their... |
Suzanne | |
| 2008 | Julia Beckwith | ||
| 2009 | Star Trek | Gaila | |
| 2009 | U.S. Attorney | Eve Chase | Television pilot |
| 2009 | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra | Shana "Scarlett" O'Hara Scarlett (G.I. Joe) Scarlett is a fictional character from G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, a line of military-themed toys created by Hasbro. The character is one of the original members of the fictional team and toy line. She is a major character of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic book series and the... |
|
| 2009 | For Sale by Owner For Sale by Owner (film) For Sale by Owner is a 2009 horror film starring Scott Cooper and Rachel Nichols, with supporting performances by Tom Skerritt, Skeet Ulrich, Frankie Faison, and Kris Kristofferson.-Plot:... |
Anna Farrier | |
| 2010 | Meskada | Leslie Spencer | |
| 2010 | Ollie Klubershturf vs the Nazis | Daniella | Short film |
| 2010–2011 | Criminal Minds Criminal Minds Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime... |
Ashley Seaver | Season 6: episodes 10-12; recurring, episodes 15-24; series regular |
| 2011 | Conan the Barbarian | Tamara | |
| 2011 | A Bird Of The Air | Fiona |