Teyla Emmagan

Teyla Emmagan is the first outstretched hand in an unknown galaxy. A born leader of her people, the Athosians, and a formidable fighter, she becomes the link between the Atlantis expedition and the inhabitants of Pegasus. But she carries a troubling secret: a distant trace of Wraith runs in her veins.

When the Atlantis expedition arrives in the Pegasus galaxy, Teyla is the first person it meets. Leader of the Athosians, a people under constant threat from the Wraith, she commands respect from the outset with her calm and natural authority. She agrees to guide the people of Earth through this hostile galaxy, and joins Sheppard's team.

In the field, Teyla is an exceptional warrior, formidable in hand-to-hand combat and with fighting sticks. But her greatest strength lies elsewhere: she's a diplomat, able to forge alliances where others would see only enemies. Her special link with the Wraith, the result of an ancient genetic crossbreeding, also gives her the unsettling ability to sense their presence, and sometimes to read their minds.

Over the seasons, Teyla becomes far more than a guide: a full-fledged member of the team, a loyal friend, and then a mother. She embodies the voice of the peoples of Pegasus, those for whom the fight against the Wraith isn't a mission, but a matter of daily survival. Without her, Atlantis would be nothing but a city of strangers in an unknown land.

Teyla is Rachel Luttrell. Born in 1971 in Tanzania and raised in Canada, this all-around performer comes as much from the stage as from the screen. The daughter of a choir singer, trained in singing, ballet and piano, she first shone in musicals such as Miss Saigon before turning to television.

From 2004 to 2009, throughout the five seasons of Stargate Atlantis, she lent Teyla her presence and grace, learning martial arts to make the character's fight scenes believable. The result made Teyla one of the franchise's best-loved figures.

After Atlantis, Rachel Luttrell reconnected with her first passion, music, releasing a jazz album, without ever completely leaving the small screen.