Rachel Portman

Rachel Portman, OBE – born December 11, 1960 in Haslemere, Surrey, England – is a British composer best known for her film scores. Interested in music at a young age, she began composing at the age of 14. After attending Charterhouse School, she studied music at Worcester College, Oxford. She soon became interested in film composing, writing music for short student films and theater productions. Portman began her music career by composing music for British television films including Mike Leigh’s Four Days in July, Jim Henson’s Storyteller series, and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. After these early commissions, she continued to compose film scores at a prolific rate. She has over 100 television, film and theater works to her name including Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991), The Joy Luck Club (1993) Benny & Joon (1993), The Emperor’s New Clothes (2001), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2008), Dolphin Tale 2 (2014), and Godmothered (2020), including the film’s ending theme “Rise Up (Joy to the World)”. She received many accolades and awards throughout her career, the most significant being appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2010.