Rachel Ticotin (born November 1, 1958 in the Bronx, New York) is an actress of Puerto Rican descent.

Rachel's parents imigrated to New York from Puerto Rico in the early 1950s in search of a better way of life. They settled down in the Southern section of the Bronx, which is one of the five boroughs of the City of New York. The South Bronx, where she received her primary and secondary education, is mainly populated by Puerto Ricans. Rachel's parents enrolled her in the Ballet Hispanico of New York where she took ballet lessons.

In 1978, Rachel appeared as a dancer in the film "King of the Gypsies", making that her official film debut. She also acted on the Off-Broadway production of Miguel Piñero's "The Sun Always Shines for the Cool". Her first big break came in 1981, when she was cast as "Isabella" opposite Paul Newman in the movie "Fort Apache, the Bronx". That same year, she was listed as one of 12 promising New Actors in John Willis Screen World Vol.33.

In 1983, Rachel married David Caruso with whom she had a daughter, whom she named Greta. That same year she landed a regular role on NBC's television drama "Love and Honor". Other television series in which she has appeared in are, "O'Hara" (1987), "Women on the Inside" (1991), "Crime & Punishment" (1993), and "Gargayles" (1994). In 1989, she divorced David Caruso and in 1991 she married Peter Strauss, to whom she is presently married.

Among the movies in which she has been cast in are the following, "Critical Condition" (1986) as "Rachel Arwood", "Where the Day Takes You" (1992) as "Officer Landers", "Falling Down" (1993) as "Detective Sandra", "Total Recall" (1990) as "Melina" alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone and "Con Air" (1997) alongside Nicolas Cage, where she earned an ALMA Award for her role as a prison guard.

Rachel Ticotin has participated in over 40 film and television series, her most recent film was "Man on Fire" (2004) where she is cast as "Mariana". She is currently working in the production of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" which is to be released in 2005.

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans