Tyrel Jackson Williams – B. 1997
Tyrel appeared in several national commercials for companies such as Target, Verizon, McDonald’s, Chex Mix and General Mills.
He made his acting debut in the television series “Everybody Hates Chris,” as a younger version of Chris, played by his older brother, Tyler James Williams. His feature film credits include roles in “Failure to Launch,” “The Naked Brothers Band” and “2 for the Money.”
He was also the singing actor for Tyrone in the TV series “The Backyardigans.” Tyrel currently stars as Leo in the Disney XD series, “Lab Rats.”
Rachel Mwanza – B. 1997
Rachel’s story reads like a movie script. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she was abandoned by her parents as a child and spent several years living as a street child in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, before she was cast in “Rebelle.”
She was cast in the film after director Kim Nguyen and producers Pierre Even and Marie-Claude Poulin saw her in a documentary film about the street kids of Kinshasa. Because of her lack of education, she did not know how to read or write when she was first cast in the film; the filmmakers have since made arrangements to pay for her education and housing until she turns 18.
Her performance in “Rebelle” garnered her awards for Best Actress from the Berlin Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Vancouver Film Critics Circle in 2012, as well as the award for Best Actress at the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards.
In February 2013, Rachel was granted a visa to allow her to attend the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
