Rebecca Harrell Tickell is a renowned filmmaker, author, and environmental activist. Born and raised in Hinesburg, Vermont, she was recognized for her talent at an early age by her adoptive father, a psychiatrist, and biological mother, an artist.
She began her acting career by performing in school plays directed by her mother and later moved to New York City to pursue a voice-over agent. Her first audition was for the Christmas movie Prancer (1989),and she was eventually cast alongside Sam Elliot, Abe Vigoda, Cloris Leachman, and Michael Constantine. Her role earned her a Young Artist Award nomination for "Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture."
Prancer (1989) became a success and is regarded as a Christmas classic. Movie critic Roger Ebert highlighted Harrell's performance, stating that she brought a "troublemaker's look in her eye and a round, pixie face that's filled with mischief" to the role.
She then went on to star in a series on CBS called Room For Romance with Dom Irrera and later attended the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City, where she studied music alongside Alicia Keys and other child celebrities.
At 18, she starred in A Piece of Eden (2000) alongside Tyne Daly and Frederic Forrest. She also guest-starred in shows such as Third Watch (1999) and Dellaventura (1997) with Danny Aiello.
In 2000, at the age of 20, she moved to Los Angeles and worked again with director John Hancock in the suspense thriller Suspended Animation (2001). Later that year, she filmed a movie alongside John Ritter, which was shot in one day and was completely improvised by the actors.
She then appeared in Saint Sinner (2002),playing a demon that sucks souls and blood of men. In 2007, she starred in the horror film Sugar Creek, after which she quit acting to pursue her dream of environmental activism, filmmaking, and movie production.
She met and fell in love with director Joshua Tickell and together they created the Sundance Award-winning environmentally themed documentary Fuel (2008). Her subsequent documentaries, The Big Fix (2012),Pump (2014),Good Fortune (2016),and Kiss the Ground (2020),have all received critical acclaim.
Tickell resides in Ojai, California, and was married to Tickell on New Year's Day 2010. The couple has dedicated their lives to environmental activism through the medium of film and owns Big Picture Ranch, a production company.
