A New York native, Rachel Victoria Byrd graduated from Harvard University with a minor in African-American studies and a major of her own design called Cinedramatic Arts - a unique combination of film and theater studies. Her love for performance art began with acting in TV and radio commercials at age three. Rachel began her directing career in college while serving as president of the Harvard Black Community and Student Theater Group. As her senior thesis, Rachel directed Harvard's premier production of the classic musical Dreamgirls. She then went on to receive her Master of Fine Arts degree in Film & Television Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts by directing “Beads” in the flagship advanced production class, “546.” After graduating, Rachel began working in the Production department at United Talent Agency in Beverly Hills alongside the team of agents that scouts and places creative department heads on feature films.