# Rachelle Lefevre
**Rachelle Lefevre** (born 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian actress best known for playing the vampire Victoria in the first two *Twilight* films and journalist Julia Shumway in the CBS series *Under the Dome*.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) • [2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/) Her full name is Rachelle Marie Lefevre, pronounced "la-fave".[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979, Montreal, Quebec, Canada[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) |
| Nationality | Canadian[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) |
| First regular role | Stacey Hanson in *Big Wolf on Campus* (1999), left after the first season to continue her studies[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) |
| Education | McGill University, Montreal, degree in Education and Literature[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/) |
| Signature role | Victoria, the vampire in *Twilight* (2008) and *The Twilight Saga: New Moon* (2009)[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/) |
| Recast | Replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard for *The Twilight Saga: Eclipse* (2010), with Summit Entertainment citing scheduling conflicts[3](https://www.twilightlexicon.com/2009/07/28/bryce-dallas-howard-replaces-rachelle-lefevere/) |
| Television leads | Julia Shumway in *Under the Dome* (2013); Dr. Ryan Clark in *Off the Map* (2011); Madeline Scott in *Proven Innocent* (2019)[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/person/rachelle-lefevre/) |
## Early life and education
Lefevre was born in Montreal to an English teacher and a psychologist, and grew up speaking mostly English, though her father's family is French.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0498956/bio/) Her mother encouraged debate at home; her stepfather is a rabbi.[6](https://www.journaldequebec.com/2019/02/14/rachelle-lefevre-la-justiciere) Before earning a degree in [Education](https://www.edgepedia.org/education) and [Literature](https://www.edgepedia.org/literature) from [McGill University](https://www.edgepedia.org/mcgill-university), Lefevre took creative arts courses at Dawson College close to Montreal and, over two separate summers, participated in a theater program at the Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/)
Her entry into acting came while she was working part-time as a waitress in Montreal: a regular customer who worked in film learned of her interest and put her in touch with a casting director, leading to her first role.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/)
## Early career in Canada
Lefevre began her career in 1999 playing Stacey Hanson in the Canadian teen series *Big Wolf on Campus* (French: *Le Loup-Garou du campus*), leaving after the first season to continue her studies.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) She then worked mainly in Canadian productions: Denys Arcand's *Stardom* (2000), in which she spoke French on screen, the thriller *Abandon* (2002), the series *Largo Winch*, and the television film *The Legend of Sleepy Hollow* (1999), in which she played Katrina Van Tassel.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) • [7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/lefevre-rachelle)
In 2002 she appeared in [George Clooney](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-clooney)'s *Confessions of a Dangerous Mind*, playing Tuvia, the childhood crush of game-show host [Chuck Barris](https://www.edgepedia.org/chuck-barris); the French-language account notes Clooney directed her in his first film as a director.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/) • [1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/)
**Move to Los Angeles.** In 2004 Lefevre moved to Los Angeles, frustrated by the scarcity of English-speaking parts in Montreal, where American productions often imported their own supporting actors.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0498956/bio/) • [8](https://www.journaldequebec.com/2012/10/17/de-montreal-a-hollywood) Through the following years she accumulated guest appearances on series including *Charmed*, *Veronica Mars*, *Bones*, and *How I Met Your Mother*, a ten-episode role in *What About Brian* (2006), and a multi-episode arc on *Boston Legal* (2004).[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/person/rachelle-lefevre/) She then held starring roles in two 1970s-themed series, *Swingtown* (CBS, 2008) and the American adaptation of *Life on Mars* (ABC, 2008–09).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/)
## Twilight and the recasting
The role that brought Lefevre to international attention was Victoria, a fiery, red-haired, nomadic vampire who hunts [Bella Swan](https://www.edgepedia.org/bella-swan) in *Twilight* (2008), directed by [Catherine Hardwicke](https://www.edgepedia.org/catherine-hardwicke) and based on [Stephenie Meyer](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephenie-meyer)'s 2005 novel.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/) • [9](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/11/twilights-rachelle-lefevre) She has said the breakdown simply described the character as a "fiery, red-haired, evil, nomadic vampire" and that she bought the book and read it in two and a half days before auditioning.[9](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/11/twilights-rachelle-lefevre) To prepare, she watched videos of lions and acted like a cat around her house, because Meyer described the character as "feline".[10](https://www.twilightlexicon.com/2008/07/27/rachelle-lefevre/) She said she wanted to play Victoria as a woman who embraced her own power rather than as someone beholden to her mate, James.[11](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2009/0401/416794-twilightrachelleleferve/)
The film was a major success, and Lefevre reprised the role in *The Twilight Saga: New Moon* (2009).[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/) In late July 2009, [Summit Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/summit-entertainment) announced that [Bryce Dallas Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryce-dallas-howard) would take over the role for the third film, *The Twilight Saga: Eclipse*, saying Lefevre could not star because of "scheduling conflicts with another commitment the actor has made".[3](https://www.twilightlexicon.com/2009/07/28/bryce-dallas-howard-replaces-rachelle-lefevere/) The conflicting commitment was the film *Barney's Version* (2010), opposite [Paul Giamatti](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-giamatti), in which she played the demanding role of his manic-depressive wife; accounts differ on how the overlap arose, with French-language filmography summaries stating the *Barney's Version* shoot coincided with the third *Twilight* film and the studio later disputing that a short overlap was the true reason.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) • [12](https://www.premiere.fr/People/Rachelle-Lefevre-de-Twilight-J-ai-ete-assommee-par-la-decision-de-Summit-de-changer-de) Lefevre said she was "stunned" by the decision.[12](https://www.premiere.fr/People/Rachelle-Lefevre-de-Twilight-J-ai-ete-assommee-par-la-decision-de-Summit-de-changer-de) Her performance in the first two films nonetheless drew a large fan following for the villain role.[2](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/)
## Television lead roles
After the *Twilight* recasting, Lefevre's career concentrated on television. She played doctors in two short-lived series, Dr. Ryan Clark in the tropical-set medical drama *Off the Map* (2011) and Dr. Kate Sykora in *A Gifted Man* (2011).[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/person/rachelle-lefevre/) Two CBS pilots, the medical drama *Gimme Shelter* and the crime series *Applebaum*, did not become series, but CBS cast her in its summer 2013 event series *Under the Dome*, a production based on [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king)'s novel and associated with [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg), as Julia Shumway, the independent journalist of the small town of Chester's Mill that is suddenly enclosed by a transparent sphere.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/person/rachelle-lefevre/) The same year she appeared in [Roland Emmerich](https://www.edgepedia.org/roland-emmerich)'s thriller *White House Down* and in *Homefront*.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/) • [13](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/rachelle-lefevre/credits/3000054559/)
In 2019 she returned to American prime-time television as lawyer Madeline Scott in the Fox legal drama *Proven Innocent*, about a lawyer assisting people who were wrongfully convicted; she said the character's courtroom intensity felt familiar, and that her parents and her rabbi stepfather had taught her to argue only from informed positions.[6](https://www.journaldequebec.com/2019/02/14/rachelle-lefevre-la-justiciere) Later television work includes Olivia Bloom in the second season of the Lifetime series *[Mary Kills People](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-kills-people)* (2017), Maggie Cabbott in *The Sounds* (2020), Sylvie Woods in the Hallmark+ series *Holidazed* (2024), and the role of Eva Beadle in the 2026 revival *Little House on the Prairie*.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/person/rachelle-lefevre/) • [14](https://www.sidewalkstv.com/interview-rachelle-lefevre/) • [13](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/rachelle-lefevre/credits/3000054559/)
## Career in numbers and recent work
Aggregators list Lefevre with roughly 72 acting credits, including about 36 television series and 20 films.[13](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/rachelle-lefevre/credits/3000054559/) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/person/rachelle-lefevre/) Her most recent work is weighted toward Canadian productions and French-language dubbing markets: *The Sounds*, *Proven Innocent*, and the 2022 film *The Secrets of Bella Vista*, in which she played Tess.[15](https://lavf.fr/acteur/rachelle-lefevre) She has said that, ironically, she has worked more in Montreal and elsewhere in Canada since moving to Los Angeles than she ever did before.[8](https://www.journaldequebec.com/2012/10/17/de-montreal-a-hollywood)
## References
1. [Rachelle LeFevre : Sa biographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-105149/biographie/)
2. [Rachelle Lefevre – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/rachelle-lefevre/)
3. [Bryce Dallas Howard Replaces Rachelle Lefevere, Twilight Lexicon (Summit Entertainment statement, 28 July 2009)](https://www.twilightlexicon.com/2009/07/28/bryce-dallas-howard-replaces-rachelle-lefevere/)
4. [Rachelle Lefevre, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/rachelle-lefevre/)
5. [Rachelle Lefevre – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0498956/bio/)
6. [Rachelle Lefèvre la justicière, Le Journal de Québec (14 February 2019)](https://www.journaldequebec.com/2019/02/14/rachelle-lefevre-la-justiciere)
7. [Lefevre, Rachelle, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/lefevre-rachelle)
8. [De Montréal à Hollywood, Le Journal de Québec (17 October 2012)](https://www.journaldequebec.com/2012/10/17/de-montreal-a-hollywood)
9. [Q&A: Twilight's Rachelle Lefevre, Vanity Fair (November 2008)](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/11/twilights-rachelle-lefevre)
10. [Rachelle Lefevre, Twilight Lexicon (27 July 2008)](https://www.twilightlexicon.com/2008/07/27/rachelle-lefevre/)
11. [Twilight Interview – Rachelle Lefevre, RTÉ](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2009/0401/416794-twilightrachelleleferve/)
12. [Rachelle Lefevre de "Twilight": "J'ai été assommée par la décision de Summit de changer de comédienne pour le rôle de Victoria", Première](https://www.premiere.fr/People/Rachelle-Lefevre-de-Twilight-J-ai-ete-assommee-par-la-decision-de-Summit-de-changer-de)
13. [Rachelle Lefevre List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/rachelle-lefevre/credits/3000054559/)
14. [Interview: Rachelle Lefevre, Sidewalks Entertainment](https://www.sidewalkstv.com/interview-rachelle-lefevre/)
15. [Rachelle Lefevre – Doublage VF, laVF.fr](https://lavf.fr/acteur/rachelle-lefevre)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Canadian actors › Surnames J to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license