Rachael Leigh Cook was born on 4 October 1979, in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, to mother JoAnn, a cooking instructor and weaver, and father Thomas H. Cook, a social worker and former stand-up comedian, of Italian descent. She is an actress, voice artist, producer and former model, most famous for her role in films “She’s All That” and “Josie and the Pussycats”, and in the television series “Into the West” and “Perception”.
A famous actress, how wealthy is Rachel Leigh Cook? Sources state that Cook has acquired a net worth over $1.5 million, as of mid-2016. Her wealth has mostly been established during her acting career.
Rachael Leigh Cook Net Worth $1.5 Million
Cook was educated at Clara Barton Open School, Laurel Springs School and Minneapolis South High School. She started her career as a child print model when she was ten years old, appearing in Target ads and on Milk-Bone boxes.
She made her feature film debut in 1995, appearing as Mary-Ann Spier in the film adaptation of the popular children’s book series “The Baby-Sitters Club”. Her next memorable appearance was as Becky Thatcher in the film “Tom and Huck”, in the same year. 1997 saw Cook taking the lead role of 15-year-old rape victim Emma Baker in the television film “Country Justice”, while also appearing in the film “The House of Yes” and in another TV film “True Women”. Her net worth was already well established.
Cook came into the national spotlight appearing in the 1998 PSA ad This Is Your Brain on Drugs, simulating how the brain is affected by heroin, by smashing eggs with a frying pan and destroying the kitchen. Several film roles followed in 1998, however, her breakthrough role came the following year, when she was cast as the nerd-turned-high-school sweetheart Laney Boggs in the hit romantic comedy “She’s All That”, which is considered the most financially successful film of her career. Cook’s performance brought her several teen-oriented awards, and considerably added to her net worth. The same year she appeared in the Elijah Wood film “The Bumblebee Flies Anyway” and in several episodes of the television series “Dawson’s Creek”.
After taking several film roles in 2000 and 2001, such as in the Sylvester Stallone film “Get Carter” and Ashton Kutcher’s “Texas Rangers”, Cook was cast as Josie McCoy in the 2001 musical comedy film “Josie and the Pussycats”, gaining additional fame. She went on to appear in the films “29 Palms”, “Scorched”, “11:14” and “American Crime”. In 2005 she joined the cast of Spielberg’s miniseries “Into the West” as Clara Wheeler, and also had a recurring role in the series “Las Vegas”.
2007 was also a productive year for Cook, as she appeared in the films “Descent”, “Nancy Drew”, “The Final Season” and “Blonde Ambition”. In the years since, she has made a number of film and television appearances, including the films “The Lodger”, “Falling Up”, “Vampire”, “The Family Tree” and “Red Sky”. As for the television, she had a recurring role as school teacher Abigail Lytar in the 2008 series “Psych” and as an FBI agent Kate Moretti in the series “Perception” which aired from 2012 to 2015. All have contributed to her wealth.
Cook has also done various voice-over roles; she voiced the character of Chelsea Cunningham in the 2000 animated film “Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker” and the series “Batman Beyond”, and of Tifa Lockhart in the 2005 animated film “Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children”. She has had recurring voice-over roles in the series “Robot Chicken” and “Titan Maximum”, while also providing the voice for several video games, including “Yakuza”, two “Kingdom Hearts” and three “Star Wars:The Old Republic” games, significantly improving her wealth. Cook has also been the owner of a production company, Ben’s Sister Productions.
Aside from her involvement in films and television projects, Cook has also appeared in music videos, such as in New Found Glory’s “Dressed to Kill” and Daniel Powter’s “Love You Lately”. She was the cover girl for the USA issue of FHM magazine in 2000, and was listed as one of “102 Sexiest Women in the World” by Stuff magazine.
Speaking about her private life, Cook has been married to actor Daniel Gillies since 2004. The couple has two children and the family resides in Los Angeles.
In 2011, the Obama administration selected the actress as an advocate for Arts and Education in the Champions for Change program. The following year she began awarding scholarships to children and youth, helping them to pay for various school programs and fees.
