But how did a successful Broadway actress travel from Japanese in Hawaii to Jewish in Jerusalem? Rachel Factor was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and attended the prestigious, private K-12 Punahou School. It was during junior high that she discovered dance, and never looked back. Community theater productions cemented her decision to pursue a career in the performing arts.

Following high school, Rachel moved to Los Angeles to begin her career as a professional dancer in music videos, film and television. A move to New York not long after brought Rachel to Broadway where she appeared in productions including Shogun, the Musical, Miss Saigon, and at Radio City Music Hall as a member of the World Famous Rockettes. Rachel also starred in Shakespeare’s Othello, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Over the course of her twenty-year professional performance career, Rachel made appearances on screen in commercials, music videos, TV shows, film & print numbering into the hundreds.

Everything changed when Rachel turned 29, discovered Judaism, and a light went on inside. A lifelong truth seeker, she embraced Torah with passion and joy. Following three and a half years of rigorous study, Rachel underwent an Orthodox conversion. Four months later, Rachel moved to Israel with her family to settle happily into their new home.

Inspiring others has always come naturally to Rachel, and her journey to Torah was no exception. Her first acclaimed one-woman show, J.A.P., chronicles her journey through Hawaii, Los Angeles and New York as a singer, dancer and actress, and finally to her home in Jerusalem. Continuing the story, Mrs. Factor wrote and produced sequel Not Even Normal and has since launched Becoming Rich, a production of song, dance and story that exploring faith and self-worth.

Later Rachel would go on to combine the three stories with eleven of her favorite musical numbers in a new show called Doors, also released for the first time ever in a version for Hebrew speaking audiences called Pischu Li. Over thirty thousand women worldwide, young and old, religious and non-religious, Jews and non-Jews, have enthusiastically attended Rachel’s performances worldwide.

Rachel founded the Jerusalem Center for the Performing Arts, formerly known as Bnos Miriam, in 2005 to avail Orthodox Jewish girls and women, who did not have prior access to the performing arts and their unique power to build self-confidence, self-esteem and pride in their Jewish heritage. Each year JCPA touches and transforms the lives of thousands of Jewish girls, women, and their families through weekly classes, special programs and public performances.

Many decades of experience running dance and theater programs, her popular workshops at seminaries and schools, and mentoring hundreds of Jewish women young and old have resulted in thousands learning to value themselves and their heritage. Through theater, dance, and Torah, Rachel’s students develop the skills to empathize with others, communicate well, work together as a team, and other core strengths. Now, for the first time, Rachel has taken these life skills and crystalized them into a life-changing curriculum that will continue to transform womens’ and girls’ lives: The REALITY Factor program. Available in workshop, seminar, event, or year-long class formats, the program coalesces Rachel’s multifaceted life experiences and courageous choices into a fun, powerful program that will enable all women and girls to reach their full potential, no matter where they come from.

Mrs. Factor has benefited from the support and guidance of renowned Torah personalities and educators including HaRav Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg זצ”ל, HaRav Dovid Morgenstern שליט”א, Rebbitzen Tziporah Heller, Rebbitzen Sima Spetner, and currently receives guidance from HaRav Yitzchok Berkovits שליט”א.