Rachel Pickup is a British actress, best known for her work on stage. She earned a Critics' Circle Theatre Award nomination for her titular performance in the 2009 revival of Miss Julie at the Rose Theatre Kingston. From 2015-2016 she played Portia in The Merchant Of Venice opposite Sir Jonathan Pryce as Shylock. The pair starred in successive productions at Shakespeare's Globe in London, Lincoln Center in New York, and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. before embarking on an international tour. Throughout her career, she has played most of Shakespeare’s heroines in productions on and off the West End, and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In 1996 Pickup appeared as Kaye Bentley in the 10-part BBC miniseries No Bananas. In 2015 she co-starred in Michel Franco’s film Chronic, which premiered in competition as the 68th Cannes Film Festival. Her father was British actor Ronald Pickup.

Pickup was born in London, England to actors Lans Traverse and Ronald Pickup.^[1][2] At age 16 she joined the National Youth Theatre, then under the direction of Edward Wilson. After three seasons with the company she matriculated to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.^[3]

Shortly before graduating from RADA, Pickup was cast as Kaye Bentley BBC miniseries No Bananas.^[1] Later that year she made her professional stage debut in Alan Ayckbourn's Way Upstream at Crucible Theatre in Sheffield. This was followed by a role opposite Alan Bates in Mike Poulton's Fortune's Fool at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

In 1997 she appeared as Helena in Oxford Stage Company's UK tour of All's Well That Ends Well, directed by Irina Brook. Then in 1998 she played Irina in Mike Poulton's translation of Three Sisters, and Fanny in David Lodge's Home Truths at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. The following year she appeared as Olivia in Terry Hands' production of Twelfth Night at Theatr Clwyd.^[4][5]

In 2000 Pickup made her Off West End debut as Corrie in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park at Jermyn Street Theatre. That year she appeared as Rose Jones in Edward Bond's The Sea at Chichester Festival Theatre. Then in 2001 she appeared in two productions at Royal Exchange, Manchester, playing Lucienne Vatelin in Georges Feydeau's The Fall Guy, and Hazel in J.B. Priestly's Time and the Conways. For the later performance Pickup was awarded Best Supporting Actress at the 2002 Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards.

In 2002, Pickup appeared as Cordelia in the English Touring Theatre's production of King Lear directed by Stephen Unwin. In 2003 the production transferred The Old Vic in London, with Pickup reprising her role.^[2] Later that year she appeared as Ophelia in Calixto Bieito's production of Hamlet for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. For this performance she earned a Herald Angel Award.

From 2004-2006 she appeared in six productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company, including performances as Silvia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Helen of Troy in Troilus and Cressida, Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Portia in Julius Caesar. The latter production would transfer to the West End in 2006.

The following year, Pickup would return to the West End in The 39 Steps, a parody play adapted from the 1935 film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock. The production would go on to win the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

From 2008-2009 she appeared in three productions at the Rose Theatre Kingston directed by Sir Peter Hall, including Love's Labour's Lost, Bedroom Farce, and the titular role in Miss Julie. The later performance earned Pickup a 2009 Critics' Circle Theatre Award nomination for Best Actress. In 2010 Bedroom Farce transferred to the West End, where Pickup reprised her role as Susannah.

In 2011, Pickup moved to the United States to appear as Lady Chiltern in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde. Later that same year she made her Off-Broadway debut in the Irish Repertory Theatre's 20th Anniversary production of Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa. She would go on to appear in four additional productions with the Irish Rep, including Airswimming by Charlotte Jones, Breath / Play by Samuel Beckett, The Home Place by Brian Friel, and London Assurance by Dion Boucicault.

In 2014, Pickup appeared as Goneril at Theatre for a New Audience, playing opposite Michael Pennington's King Lear. Later that year she played Amanda in Darko Tresnjak's production of Private Lives at Hartford Stage.

From 2015-2016 she played Portia in The Merchant Of Venice opposite Sir Jonathan Pryce as Shylock. The pair starred in successive productions at Shakespeare's Globe in London, Lincoln Center in New York, and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. before embarking on an international tour.

In 2017 Pickup made her Broadway debut in Noel Coward's Present Laughter at the St. James Theatre, understudying the roles Liz Essendine, Monica Reed, and Lady Saltburn. The following year she returned to London to star in the Finborough Theatre's revival of But It Still Goes On by Robert Graves.

In 2019 Pickup appeared in Intelligence a new play by Helen Banner at New York Theatre Workshop. Later that year she reprised her performance as Amanda Prynne in Noel Coward's Private Lives at the Dorset Theatre Festival. She then returned to London to appear as Eva Ardsley in W. Somerset Maugham's For Services Rendered at Jermyn Street Theatre.

In 2021 Pickup portrayed Miranda in The Tempest, also at Jermyn Street Theatre.

To date, she has appeared in over 50 professional stage productions, on and off Broadway, the West End, and in Regional Theaters across both sides of the Atlantic.

• Official website
• Rachel Pickup at IMDb