Rachel Berry

Rachel Barbra Berry is a fictional character and de facto female lead from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Lea Michele, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Rachel was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. She is the glee club star of the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, where the show is set. Her storylines have seen her suffer peer alienation due to her Broadway ambitions, and develop romantic feelings for Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff), a member of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline, but primarily for quarterback and glee club co-captain Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), to whom she eventually becomes engaged.
Michele bases Rachel on herself when she was younger, and also draws inspiration for the character variously from films including Election, and television portrayals such as the Gossip Girl character Blair Waldorf. Michele has said that she draws on a lot of vulnerability playing Rachel, much like Blair Waldorf. She noted, "Rachel will never be popular because her looks aren't considered beautiful, and when I was in high school it was the same for me. I didn't get a nose job, and every single girl around me did. Therefore, I was out." Michele added, "What's so great about Glee is that it shows you how that kind of stuff hurts, but it doesn't matter: You can still be who you want to be."


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