Rachel Padden was born in 1981 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. She was awarded a place to study Medicine at the University of Oxford in 1999, completing two years of the course before withdrawing for health reasons. After giving birth to a baby girl in 2004, Rachel embarked upon a career in the NHS for several years before deciding in 2018 to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a professional actress.

In 2021 Rachel received a First Class BA (Hons) in Performance from the University of Bolton and went on to study "Advanced Acting Fundamentals" and "Advanced Scene Study for Actors" at RADA, where she was subsequently featured in promotional campaigns for their programme of short courses.

In her spare time Rachel is a member of Bradford Amateur Rowing Club and an NFRS-registered breeder of pet rats.