Rachel Ako was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA. Her mother was born and raised in the Phillipines and is of Filipino and Chinese descent. Her father was born and raised in Hawai'i and is of Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese descent. Ako is a best selling book author, known for Rise: True Stories of Triumph in the Face of Adversity (2015). She earned a best seller in three categories: Non-Fiction, Self Help and Inspirational. Ako is a model, dancer, businesswoman and philanthropist. She was in Survivor Season 33: Millennials vs. Gen-X on CBS. She was featured in the movie The Cooler (2003) with Alec Baldwin. Ako was a print model for Aria Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Circus Circus Hotel and Casino Las Vegas and Pala Resort and Casino in Palm Springs, California. Ako has been in national commercials for Wal-Mart and domestic commercials for Eldorado Casino in Reno, Nevada and various businesses. Ako is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Ako was sixteen when she first entered the pageant world as Miss Nevada in the Junior Miss America Pageant.