Rebecca Root was born in Woking, Surrey, England in 1969 and was assigned male at birth. She moved to rural Oxfordshire when she was 11 years old and attended Bartholomew School, Eynsham. As a young person, she performed with local drama groups and the prestigious National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, where she was a contemporary of notable individuals such as Lucy Briers, Jonathan Cake, and Daniel Craig.
In 1987, she relocated to London full-time to pursue her passion for acting at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Upon graduating in 1990, Rebecca began working in a variety of television and theatre productions, including notable roles in Keeping Up Appearances, Casualty, The Lady's Not For Burning, Hamlet, and Tartuffe.
As Rebecca Root approached the age of 30, she began to struggle with her gender identity and realized she needed to transition to female. This realization led to a hiatus from her acting career, during which she pursued her MA in Voice Studies at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, and developed her practice as a voice teacher.
Although she took a break from acting, Rebecca never completely closed the door on her performance career. In 2015, she made a significant comeback with the BBC2 sitcom Boy Meets Girl, becoming the first trans actor to appear in a trans role in a British television comedy. The same year, she made her feature film debut alongside Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl.
Rebecca continued to appear in various film, TV, radio, and theatre productions, quickly becoming a popular face in the performance industry. She is a passionate advocate for LGBT rights and social acceptance, serving as the Patron of the charities Diversity Role Models and Liberate Jersey.
In addition to her acting career, Rebecca continues to practice as a voice coach, focusing primarily on trans clients, alongside her increasingly busy acting schedule. She resides in Sussex with her partner, Bee Menabney.
