REBECCA STREET is a mother, grandmother, and working actor based in New York City. Rebecca began her career in Washington, D.C. and received her Equity card from the Arena Stage. Before moving to NYC, she lived in Los Angeles for twenty-four years where she raised her children and worked in TV and film. Though she has performed in many TV episodics, films, and commercials, she is perhaps best known for her 2 year portrayal of a woman with AIDS on “The Young & Restless." NY credits include the recent Hallmark movie, "Christmas at the Plaza," HBO’s “Mildred Pierce,” "House of Cards," "Orange is The New Black," Blacklist," and playing Mary Tyrone in "Long Day’s Journey into Night" Off Broadway. She was also featured in Gore Verbinski's film, "A Cure for Wellness" which she travelled to Berlin to shoot. Her full TV & film resume can be viewed on IMDB.com.
Rebecca holds a BA in English from the University of Maryland and prior to becoming an actor, she was a high school English teacher in Maryland and the recipient of a Rotary Club "Outstanding Teacher” award. Her interest in teaching has continued through the years, leading her to volunteer for a variety of organizations addressing the needs of marginalized populations. While living in LA, she also created a seminar for artists based on the work of mythology scholar Joseph Campbell that was presented at a variety of venues including Loyola Marymount University and the Skirball Cultural Center. In NYC, she was a volunteer teacher at Valley Lodge, a homeless shelter for seniors and taught a Poetry Workshop at the Samaritan Village Young Mothers Program.
A social activist, Rebecca has directed eighteen plays — both modern and classical — in programs designed to bring theatre to the homeless and to people in hospice care. She has served on the Boards of Shanti, The Neighborhood Youth Association, PATH (People Assisting the Homeless, and is currently on the Advisory Board of Healing Tree. In 1992, she conceived and chaired an event in Los Angeles to rebuild the libraries after the civil unrest, ART FROM ASHES. She was a panelist in a UCLA forum, titled “Real to Reel: The Media’s Response to Women with HIV/AIDS” and has performed in charity benefits across the country.
Rebecca is an incest survivor, having experienced extended sexual abuse by her biological father. She is grateful that her journey to recovery has finally brought her to a place where she can be a public advocate for the many others who have suffered sexual trauma, and do so without shame. Hence, You Can Help: A Guide for Family and Friends of Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Assault and her free online program for survivors, You Are Not Alone .
Rebecca has addressed lay people, professionals, and students at a variety of venues on the ramifications of sexual trauma and methods for facilitating recovery ~ including the NY State Office of Mental Health Grand Rounds at Rockland Psychiatric Center, the Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center affiliated with Columbia University, two speeches at Fordham University Graduate School, the Juilliard School of Music, Drama & Dance, the University of California Santa Barbara, Take Back The Night, and The New School in NYC.