Rachel Berry

Rachel Barbra Berry is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists, alongside Mr. Schue in the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. The character is portrayed by actress Lea Michele, and appears in ''Glee'' from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Rachel was developed by ''Glee'' creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. She is the glee club star of the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, where the show is set. Her storylines have seen her suffer peer alienation due to her Broadway ambitions and over-eager personality, but she is very kind-hearted and willing to help even if people do not need it and develop romantic feelings for Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff), a member of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline, but primarily for quarterback and glee club co-captain Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), to whom she eventually becomes engaged. Hudson later dies in season 5, with his cause of death not being revealed. This was due to his actor, Cory Monteith, passing away in real life, which led to his character being killed off. Berry later reconciles with her ex boyfriend, Jesse St. James in season 6. In the series finale, it’s revealed that Berry married St. James, and became a Surrogate for friends Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson.

Michele based Rachel on herself when she was younger, and also drew inspiration for the character from films including ''Election'', and television portrayals such as the ''Gossip Girl'' character Blair Waldorf. "Rachel will never be popular because her looks aren't considered beautiful," said Michele, "and when I was in high school it was the same for me. I didn't get a nose job, and every single girl around me did. Therefore, I was out. What's so great about Glee is that it shows you how that kind of stuff hurts, but it doesn't matter: You can still be who you want to be."

Rachel is a "strong, driven girl" but somewhat neurotic, and ''Glee'' follows Rachel's journey to become more of a team player as well as fulfil her own aspirations. Michele was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2010, and for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2010 and 2011 for her performance in the role. Rachel received mostly positive reviews from critics: Maureen Ryan of ''The Chicago Tribune'' praised Michele for making the character "more than a humorless stereotype", though ''The Wall Street Journal''‘s Raymund Flandez has described Rachel as "insufferable". Several songs performed by Michele as Rachel were released as singles, available for digital download, and featured on the show's soundtrack albums. Rachel is the most frequently seen character on the series, with “Dynamic Duets”, "The Role You Were Born To Play" and "Shooting Star" (all in season 4) being the only episodes where she does not appear. Provided by Wikipedia