Rachel Shelley

Rachel Shelley is one of the semi-recurring actors on Once Upon a Time, portraying the role of Milah.

Early life
Shelley was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, and was brought up primarily in London. After graduating from the University of Sheffield with a B.A. Hons in English and Drama, she joined a local theatre company in Edinburgh and set up a community theatre company in Sheffield before moving to London to further her acting career.

Career
Shelley is perhaps best known for playing the role of Helena Peabody in the Showtime hit series The L Word. Other parts include Elizabeth Russell in the Oscar-nominated Bollywood film Lagaan in 2001, and the beauty whose tragic loss drives Charles Castle mad in the 1997 film Photographing Fairies. In 2012 and early 2013, she played the recurring role of Yvonne Rippon, a police superintendent who had a relationship with established character Nick Jordan, in popular BBC medical drama Casualty.

Apart from acting, Shelley has written articles for the newspaperThe Guardian and the magazine Diva.

Personal life
Shelley lives in London with her partner Matthew Parkhill, who is a TV writer, director and producer. They have a daughter, born on September 8, 2009.