Russell Hulme, MD ObGyn claimed to have heard Rachel "humming" in the womb, and told her mother she would be musical. Nurses at Good Samaritan Hospital claimed she "soothed the entire nursery with her singing" so her birth announcement read: "Rachel Ann Youngberg, 8 lb. 1 oz. Soprano" just for fun. It turned out to be prophetic. Rachel graduated in May 2004 from Manhattan School of Music and is expected to become a full lyric soprano, a star on the stages of the opera world.She lived a year in Scotland and a year and a half in the Netherlands, and traveled twice around the world before turning five.Her debut occurred at age three, at a variety show she was attending with her family in Holland when the Emcee, stalling for time due to the Mime Act not being ready, requested volunteers from the audience. Unknown to her parents, Rachel climbed on stage and began singing, in fluent Dutch, a song she had learned at her pre-school. It brought down the house. Rachel bowed, taking two curtain calls. She was home.Rachel begged her mother to "put me in a Disney movie" and she wouldn't let up until her mother took her to the Steele Agency in San Francisco, where she took the pen from her mother's hand and exclaimed, "I'm going to LOVE being in the business!" and printed her first name, with a backward "c". She was five years old.Nominated for a Ginny Award for her work in the San Jose Civic Light Opera's production of EVITA! at the age of seven, Rachel went on to perform in many theatrical and video productions.After the sudden death of her baby brother, the family moved to a rural community in the Intermountain West, where film work was sparse. Rachel graduated with honors and moved to Washington DC for a year before being accepted at the music conservatory.She was in Manhattan when the towers fell, and feels a kinship to the city that will never leave her.Rachel has lived in Los Angeles since 2004, and hopes to win a leading role in an inspiring film which will become a classic.
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