An Academy Award-winning actress who campaigns on behalf of the deaf community, Rachel Shenton has never lost sight of her Staffordshire roots.
Born and raised in Stoke-on-Trent, Rachel studied performing arts at Stoke-on-Trent College and combined her studies with volunteering for the charity DeafLinks.
When Rachel was just 12 years old her father became deaf after undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. She went on to learn British Sign Language, in 2011 she was made ambassador for the National Deaf Children's Society and she continues to raise awareness of deafness in the UK.
Her acting career began with small recurring parts in various television series such as Holby City and Waterloo Road.
Then in 2010 she was cast in Hollyoaks as Mitzeee Minniver, an aspiring glamour model. It was to be her breakthrough role in the UK.
In April 2014 Rachel made her US television debut in season three of the ABC drama Switched at Birth, playing Lilly Summers. She went on to shoot seasons four and five, which was when the show ended. The final season aired in February 2017.
That same year Rachel appeared in The Silent Child, a film she created and co-produced with partner Chris Overton. The film was based on her own experiences as the child of a parent who became deaf. The film features profoundly deaf six-year-old first-time actor Maisie Sly as the titular child. British Sign Language is used in the film. The film won best short film at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in August 2017. This made it eligible for entry to the Oscars.
In December 2017 the film was selected as one of the final 10 films in the Live Action Short Film category for the 90th Academy Awards. On 23 January 2018 it was announced that The Silent Child was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for the 90th Academy Awards, which it then won. Rachel kept a promise that she had made to their young lead actress and signed her acceptance speech.
In March 2019, Rachel joined the cast of BBC2 comedy series White Gold playing motivational speaker turned window saleswoman Jo Scott, alongside James Buckley and Joe Thomas.
Then in September 2020, Rachel began appearing in the Channel 5 and PBS adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small as Helen Alderson. Significant changes were made from the source material allowing the role of Helen to be greatly expanded.
Rachel established the Midlands Screen Acting School, which offers monthly masterclasses for up-and-coming actors, fulfilling a role that she felt was lacking regionally at the beginning of her career. The masterclasses are held in The Catalyst at Staffordshire University.
Rachel’s forthcoming audio drama Gladstone Girls, which celebrates Stoke-on-Trent’s ceramic heritage, was recorded in the sound studios at Staffordshire University.
The award of Honorary Doctor of Arts is bestowed upon Rachel in recognition of her achievements as an Academy Award-winning actor and how she uses her status, talent and success to inspire and motivate aspiring actors of all ages in her home county of Staffordshire to further their career ambitions by establishing the Midlands Screen Acting School.
The award also acknowledges her contribution to changing mindsets and breaking down barriers for deaf people around the globe. She has raised awareness of how millions of deaf children all over the world live in silence and face communication barriers, and particularly access to education, when she delivered her Oscars acceptance speech using BSL. The award also recognises her voluntary and charity work and the ambassadorial role she plays in support of Deaflinks and The National Deaf Children’s Society. The award also recognises her role as a positive ambassador for the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the county of Staffordshire.