Rachel Luttrell was born in Tanzania and moved to Canada with her family at the age of five. Her mother is from Lushoto, Tanzania and her father is a Louisiana native of British decent. Her classical studies included ballet (trained at The Russian Academy of Classical Ballet) and music (she plays the piano and sings) trained at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and by her father.

Her father participated in the internationally acclaimed Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.

Rachel (a Capricorn) has three sisters.
Studied Shakespeare at Oxford. Studied at prestigious Russian Academy Ballet School and studied piano at The Royal Conservatory of Canada. Spent the summer of 2003 studying Shakespeare at Oxford University with the British/American Drama Association in the prestigious President Group. She sings soprano. She is a licensed bartender. Her Stargate: Atlantis character's name was originally Mikala.