Former Hollyoaks actress Rachel Shenton is going to the Oscars!
The ex soap actress will be walking the red carpet after her film, The Silent Child, was nominated in the Live Action Short Film category at the 90th annual Academy Awards.
She received the good news on Tuesday when this year’s Oscar nominations were unveiled at a live press conference in Los Angeles.
Rachel – best known to many of us as Hollyoaks’ Mitzeee Minniver – already knew her film had made the category’s short list, which featured ten films.
But now she can start dress shopping after finding out today that The Silent Child was one of five films to make the final cut for the big night.
Congratulations!
There were a record 165 pictures in the running, before they were narrowed to just 10 films, then the final five, which were announced on Tuesday.
The Silent Child goes up against DeKalb Elementary, The Eleven O’Clock, My Nephew Emmett and Watu Wote (All Of Us).
The Oscars take place on Sunday, March 4.
Rachel wrote the screenplay for The Silent Child, which was directed by her fiancé Chris Overton.
It’s a film close to Rachel’s heart: the storyline revolves around a young girl who is profoundly deaf and lives in a “world of silence” until a social worker teaches her the gift of communication.
Speaking to Ent & Audiology News recently, she said: “It’s the most creatively satisfying thing I’ve ever done but I certainly can’t take all the credit; we have a fantastic team working on this project.
“It’s a beautiful story about a profoundly deaf four-year-old girl called Libby who is born to hearing parents, as 90 per cent of deaf children are.
“Sadly Libby’s parents don’t know how to best cater for her needs and she ends up going to a mainstream school and, thus, does not receive the necessary support.
“As I mentioned before, access to education is a big issue for me and one that needs addressing: I believe that film is a very powerful way to convey a message.”
Rachel’s father lost his hearing when she was twelve years old and lived the last two years of his life profoundly deaf.
She learned sign language and has since become an advocate for deaf awareness and ambassador of the National Deaf Children’s Society and DeafLinks.
Reacting to today’s amazing Oscar nomination news, Susan Daniels OBE, the Chief Executive of the National Deaf Children’s Society, lavished praise on Rachel and the film’s achievement.
“Rachel Shenton, who has been such a wonderful supporter of ours over the years, should be so proud of this fantastic achievement,” she said.
“For the 50,000 deaf children in the UK, and the millions of deaf children across the globe, this film shines such a powerful spotlight on so many of the issues deaf children face day in, day out.
“But just as importantly, this beautifully constructed film also makes the argument so powerfully that deaf children can absolutely achieve anything in life, as long as they are given the right support.”
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Rachel left Hollyoaks in 2013 and moved to Los Angeles, where she landed a regular part in teen drama, Switched At Birth.
Of course, she’s not the only Chester star to be making waves across the pond: Nathalie Emmanuel (Sasha Valentine) currently stars in Game of Thrones, while Ricky Whittle (Calvin Valentine) stars in American Gods.