Rachel Dawes

Rachel Dawes is a fictional character who first appeared in Christopher Nolan's 2005 feature film Batman Begins. She was portrayed in that film by Katie Holmes, with Emma Lockhart as a younger version of the character in early scenes. Holmes also voiced the character in the video game adaptation. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaced Holmes in the 2008 sequel The Dark Knight after Holmes chose not to reprise the role.^[1] Gyllenhaal also appeared as Dawes on the viral marketing website I Believe in Harvey Dent,^[2] giving Harvey Dent her endorsement in the District Attorney election.

In The Dark Knight Trilogy, Rachel is Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) childhood sweetheart and one of the few people who truly knows him, and inspires him to improve Gotham City. The conflict between Bruce's love for her and his secret life as Batman is one of the main themes of the first two films in the trilogy, while her death in The Dark Knight partly motivates his actions in the final film, The Dark Knight Rises.