We’re here today with Rachel Jackson, a name vertical drama fans know well, and one that keeps showing up in the credits of the genre’s biggest hits. From a childhood split between Nashville rodeos and community theatre to becoming one of the most recognized plus-size leads in vertical, Rachel has built a career on saying yes to hard conversations, both onscreen and off. Ahead of what’s shaping up to be her busiest year yet, she sat down with usto talk about the road that got her here, and where she wants to take it next.
Every journey starts somewhere Rachel, often in childhood. For our readers who are just discovering you, can you take us back to those early years? What was your childhood like, and is there a memory or small story that still stays with you today? Were you a shy child, or more on the mischievous side?
Rachel: I grew up on a farm just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Most of my early childhood was spent going to rodeos where either my mom or myself was competing. We spent a lot of time on the road, so I was homeschooled for most of elementary school. In an attempt to make sure I still spent time around other kids, my mom put me in lots of activities, including an acting class when I was about five. I immediately fell in love with it, and acting was all I could talk about pretty much from that moment on. The teacher of that class was an actor named Pacer Harp, who would remain an important figure in my life as I would grew up in that very theatre company. The first time I ever saw Pacer on stage, shortly after starting classes, I told him after the show that I wanted to do that when I grew up. His reply was simply “Then you will.” The rest is history.
How was life for you growing up? Before discovering acting as your true calling, were there any hobbies, interests, or activities you explored that helped shape who you are today?
Rachel: I feel very lucky to have had a fairly unconventional childhood. Traveling all the time, rodeoing, being responsible for my horse, chores around the farm, and balancing all that rehearsals and performances taught me a lot from a young age. I consider myself to have a really exceptional work ethic, and I credit a lot of that to farm life. I’ve always loved to read, and you could find me in a book often as a child and still as an adult. Once I caught the acting bug it was pretty much my only focus, and within a few years I hung up my spurs and dropped other extra curriculars to focus on auditions, rehearsals, voice lessons, and dance classes. For most of my life, Broadway was my number one goal.
Now that you’ve grown and carry your own experiences on your shoulders, if you could sit down with your ten-year-old self for a moment, what would you tell her? What words of comfort, courage, or hope would you offer that younger version of you?
Rachel: Oh there is so much I’d tell her. Ten year old me was just starting to figure out that her body looked different than her peers, and the first thing I would want her to know would be that it’s okay. It’s okay that she’s taller than the other girls. It’s okay that her shoulders are broader, and she has a round face, and that she doesn’t wear the same sizes as her friends. I would tell her that her body isn’t her enemy. But I would tell also that girl that the future is so bright for her. I would tell her that somehow our life is even cooler than we could have pictured. I would make sure she knows that there are a lot of speed bumps along the way, and a lot of people will tell her this career isn’t in the cards for her. And I would tell her to just keep going, no matter what. Ignore those people, because they are underestimating her stubbornness and sheer willpower.
When did you first discover your talent for acting? Was it something you felt as a child, something that grew with you over time, or did it arrive later, once you were old enough to truly understand what acting meant to you?
Rachel: Once I took my first acting class at 5, I pretty much lived in the theatre from that moment on. I was so lucky to grow up in a large regional theatre that had a really robust program, so I got to do an incredible range of shows as a kid. I knew very early that I planned to get my BFA in college, and for the longest time, the plan was to move to New York right after college and then Broadway or bust. Obviously, pivots were made along the way but I always knew acting was the path.
Now let’s jump into one of my favorite topics: vertical dramas. How did you first discover this format, and what were your initial thoughts when you stepped into this world of storytelling?
Rachel: A few months after moving to LA and signing with my agent, she sent me a breakdown that was for a vertical. She was also fairly new to the vertical world so we dipped our toes in together and that audition ended up being my first vertical, Sophia in The Mayor’s XXL Wife: Her Stunning Revenge. I truly did not know what to expect stepping on to that set but luckily I had some incredible actors around me, who I am still lucky to be friends with to this day. Shortly after that vertical got released, the vertical actor community swept me up into their ranks and the vertical fans graciously accepted me as well. I had no idea what an incredible fan base I would be stepping into, but I remain so grateful to them every single day. From that moment on, I was eager to keep going and doing more and more verticals. I have loved watching the space evolve, and I love the conversations I have with other actors in vertical world who care so much about the stories we tell and about our audiences.
What was the first role you landed in the vertical-drama format, and how did it feel stepping into a world where everything moves so quickly, with entire projects often shot and wrapped in just 7 to 10 days?
Rachel: Sophia in The Mayor’s XXL Wife: Her Stunnign Revenge. It was a really fun set with a great group of people. The days were long and the pace was grueling, but I’ve always found that with a good group, even the longest set days still have joy in them. So many people on that set are to this day names I look forward to seeing on any call sheet.
The Mayor’s XXL Wife got a strong reaction, some viewers loved it, others felt the “lose weight to be loved” storyline was genuinely damaging. How do you sit with playing a story like that?
Rachel: This question is so valid. It’s such a layered conversation, because on one hand, it’s a job. I’m booked. I’m an actor making money by acting in very successful and popular series. On the other hand, the stories are not a great representation of plus size bodies. For me, I have landed on the mindset of “a job is a job.” I still have bills to pay, and until the vertical industry is ready to accept that any body size can tell any story, I have to be willing to take the jobs that come my way. I also have to consider that me turning down the job won’t stop the script from being made, but I know that I will be able to show up and do my job well and bring these women to life in a way that is honest and real. I don’t begrudge any fans who prefer to skip transformation storylines! But I also don’t begrudge any actor who takes the roles, because the industry is so volatile at the moment. I also always want to remind fans that because I have established myself in the vertical industry, I am able to push for change. I have advocated heavily for better stories and scripts with plus size leads, and I feel that I can at least partially own the number of plus size stories we’ve seen released in 2026 so far. It’s hard to create change from outside the gates!
Sophia, Lily, Hazel, Sunny, nearly every role you’ve booked has been written as the plus-size heroine of the story. What’s it like building a career on that one specific arc?
Rachel: On one hand, I have an incredibly loyal fan base. There are so many people in the vertical fan space who see themselves reflected in my characters. These fans are so passionate and are so grateful to feel represented by the characters I play. On the other hand, I know that these women deserve to see themselves represented much better than they often get to be. That’s why I was so excited to sign on for XL Stands for Xtra Love, and why I am so incredibly proud of that series. Ellie is a character I was honored to bring to life, and hearing what she means to people is something that I treasure more than I can say.
You’ve built a name playing plus-size leads in storylines that don’t always treat that body the kindest way, what’s it actually like living inside those narratives, and are you seeing real movement toward better, more diverse body representation in verticals?
Rachel: The needle is moving, but it is moving slowly. I will say this year I have gotten more true lead auditions than any other year, including leads that weren’t necessarily written to be plus sized. That has been a really cool development. Now, will they ever actually hire me for a lead that wasn’t written to be plus sized? Only time will tell. But the door seems to be open now, which is another perk of being fairly established in the vertical industry. Without breaking any NDAs, I can say with certainty that more plus sized led stories are coming this year to the vertical space. I hope to see that trend continue. But my real goal would be a vertical script where the heroine’s body is never a topic of discussion. I’d love to get to just exist in a role, fall in love, tell the story, and ride off into the sunset with out someone having to rip my clothes and call me a pig along the way.
Out of all the projects you’ve been part of so far, is there one role or character that resonated with you most deeply, someone who stayed with you long after the cameras stopped rolling?
Rachel: Ellie in XL Stands For Xtra Love. My pride in that project truly knows no bounds. I advocated hard for myself, with the help of my team, to sign to this role. Playing a plus size character whose confidence never waivers was so incredibly rewarding. Ellie was so fun, so sharp, and so multifaceted. I loved that the conflict in their relationship was that she had hesitations, not him. I loved that he was the one pursuing and she needed to be won over. I loved that she was allowed to be sexy without being a joke. I owe a lot of that last part to Teig, my angel of a costar. He understood the gravity of how this story got told in a way I will always be grateful for.
What would your dream role be, whether in a vertical drama or a full-length film, and what kind of story or character do you hope to bring to life one day?
Rachel: A somewhat known fact about me is that I also write, and have written a few vertical scripts. There is one particular script I’ve written that is an F1 romance, and it is so dear to my heart. It is probably the only script I’ve ever written that I would not even consider selling to an app without myself attached as the lead. I love the character I wrote, and I love the story. So, getting that produced is a major major dream for me. Overall though, I love rom coms. I think there is so much power in a story about love. At the end of the day, rom coms are about hope, and hope is something we can always use a little more of. If I can spend my career giving people more of that? That’s the goal for me.
Let’s go a little deeper Rachel. Beyond titles, roles, and public recognition, what does success truly mean to you on a personal level, and how do you measure it in your own life and career?
Rachel: This answer has shifted a lot for me over the years. My current answer is that success to me looks like paying the bills with my career. Not having a day job in retail or food service, both of which I have done and am grateful to have moved on from. Right now I can say that on camera work is my only source of income and I’m able to live alone in Los Angeles fairly comfortably. To me? That is success. I still have goals I want to achieve. I hope to never get stagnant or get too comfortable. I want to always be challenging myself to up my game. But I also want to be able to be gentle with myself. There are a lot of people in this city who would give anything to say their only job is on camera work. I’m one of the few lucky enough to get to say that.
And how about love Rachel? What does love mean to you today, and how has your understanding of it evolved as you’ve grown both personally and professionally?
Rachel: Love for me can mean so many things. I just waxed poetic about the power of rom coms, but now I’m going to answer this question mostly in regards to friendship. My best friend and I talk all the time about how our future plans involve us buying houses side by side (we currently live in apartments side by side). She is who I travel the world with. She is who I celebrate major life events and successes with. She is who I call in life’s major disappointments. And I have so many other incredible friends who are truly the rocks of my life. As my career builds and I become more and more visible to more and more people, love to me is surrounding myself with the people who really know me.
When you look ten years into the future Rachel, where do you see yourself, both in your career and in the life you hope to be living?
Rachel: I hope to be running a production company with my best friend. We have so many great stories we want to tell, and we have a long term vision for that production company to take shape. I hope to be working in verticals, features, television, truly wherever they’ll have me. I hope to be one of many plus size actors getting their moment in the sun, instead of one of the few.
To conclude, what message would you like to share with your fans, the people who believe in you, and the friends who’ve stood by you throughout your journey?
Rachel: To my fans, you mean more to me than I can say. I read every single message even if I don’t have the time to respond. The trust you put in me to tell stories that make you feel seen does not go unnoticed to me. I think about you guys in every audition, contract negotiation, or pitch meeting for scripts I write. You are my why.
And to my friends and family, thank you for always treating this dream as inevitable. Your faith in me is the foundation where I built my faith in myself.
As Rachel put it herself, her fans “mean more to me than I can say”, she reads every message, even the ones she can’t get back to, and carries that trust with her into every audition, every negotiation, every script. It’s that same clarity that runs through everything she told us: about the work it took to get here, about the stories she still wants to tell, and about a future she hopes includes far more plus-size actors getting their moment in the sun, not just her own. Rachel, thank you for your honesty, and we wish you continued success.
