Rachel Davis came to Bay City, Illinois in 1967 with her mother. She was girl from the wrong side of the tracks trying to find her way to a better life. Her father had deserted her and her mother when she was a young girl. As a child she would cry herself to sleep for missing him.
Rachel was a teenager when they arrived. She was looking for love by any means she could get it. She thought she found it with Russ Matthews. She was modeling at Bryants Department Store and fainted. When she woke up at BCH she discovered Dr. Russ Matthews and thought he was from the upper class Matthews when he was from the middle class branch. They married in 1968. But she soon found herself deeply in love with Steven Frame who had his heart more set on Alice Matthews than Rachel Davis Matthews. Rachel became pregnant with Russ's Baby but lost it. She then had an affair with Steven Frame and became pregnant with his child. She gave birth to Jaime in 1969 and tried to pass him off as Russ's child but eventually Russ learned the truth and Rachel and he divorced in 1970.
Rachel continued her infatuation with Steven Frame for years but he truly loved Alice Matthews. Finally Rachel married Ted Clark in 1972. She and Ted owned The Fireside Inn, a restaurant. Their marriage lasted less than a year because of her idolization of Steve.
Steve married his sweetheart Alice but Rachel continued to pursue him to no end. She finally succeeded in breaking up their marriage. Rachel and Steve married in 1972 after her divorce from Ted. But their marriage lasted less than a year.
Rachel was a hellcat in her early years. She caused Alice to miscarry Steven's baby. The incident rendered Alice sterile. She tried every way conceivable to keep Alice and Steve apart. Steve supposedly died in 1975 and that ended the famous Rachel, Steve and Alice triangle.
There came a new guy to town in 1973. His name was Mac Cory. But until 1974 Rachel didn't give him much of a look. (Actually he was meant to be a beau of Aunt Liz Matthews but once TPTB saw the chemistry between Mac and Rachel the changed their minds.) Mac met Rachel in 1974 and despite their 20 + years age difference married for the first time in 1975.
Rachel and Mac's love had one major obstacle, his daughter Iris. She was totally against Mac marrying a woman who she felt was a gold digger and younger than she was. Iris also didn't think Daddy should love anyone but her. She made Rachel's' life hell from the word I do. Iris hated Rachel so much that when Rachel became pregnant with their first child Iris refused to tell Mac that Rachel was suffering abdominal cramps. Rachel lost the baby because she didn't get the help she needed. Mac always forgave Iris of all her misdoing. He blamed his overindulgence for all of Iris's problems. This strained Rachel and Mac's Marriage.
In 1976 Rachel started sculpting as Rachel Davis. She didn't want anyone to think that Mac had paid her way in the sculpting world. She had a studio and a showing of her sculptures. Mac at times felt she put to much time into her work and not enough time into their marriage.
Rachel became pregnant again in 1978. Rachel gave birth to their daughter Amanda in Aug of 1978 much to Iris's chagrin. Amanda was named for Mac's mother. Mac was a doting father. Rachel feared that Amanda would be a spoiled and selfish like Iris.
Soon after Amanda was born Mac and Rachel's marriage started to deteriorate, mostly do to Iris. Mac started seeing Janice Frame. (Rachel briefly saw a man named Quentin.) Janice was only after the Cory money. She slowly poisoned Mac with the help of an accomplice Mitch Blake. Rachel figured out the scam. She followed Janice and Mac to St. Croix where she befriended Mitch in order to find out where Janice had Mac. Rachel ended up sleeping with Mitch to get the answers she needed. Rachel managed to get to Mac in time and saved his life. Later Rachel killed Janice in the Cory swimming pool.
Rachel and Mac remarried upon his recovery from the poisoning. But their marriage didn't last long. Rachel soon discovered she was pregnant with Mitch Blake's child. Mitch confronted Rachel about the baby. A gun went off and Mitch was presumed dead when his body disappeared. She was put on trial for his murder. It was during the trial that it was revealed that Rachel was carrying Mitch' s baby. Mac was sterile from the poison Janice had fed him.
Rachel was found guilty and sentenced to 8 years in prison. She was going to let Russ Matthews and his new wife, Tracy, adopt her baby. But Mitch turned up alive. Rachel was released from jail and gave birth in Dec of 1980 to Matthew Blake. Mac again divorced Rachel in January of 1981.
Mitch wanted to raise his son but lost custody of the boy to Rachel.
At the same time Rachel and Mac were fighting over custody of Amanda. All arguments between Mac, Rachel and Mitch were bitter. Mitch ended up kidnapping Matthew. He was soon found and Matt was returned to Rachel. Mitch went to prison.
Mac and Rachel remarried for the third time in 1984. They still had a very stormy relationship but their thorn, Iris, had moved on to Texas. Things were a lot quieter at the Cory estate from then on until 1988.
In 1988 a hostile take over of Cory Publishing was started. No one could find the source of the take over. Mac and Rachel struggled to save the company from slipping away. Then Iris came home, bringing with her shares of Cory stock. She saved her father's company. But Mac and Rachel soon learned it was Iris who had started the take-over in the first place with the help of Evan Bates. Evan was actually Earl Battis, Janice Frames son. He was out to get revenge for his mother's death at the hands of Rachel.)
The strain of what Iris had done proved to be too great for Rachel's beloved Mac. He died alone in a hotel in Maine where he had gone to think. (Doug Watson died too. He was on Vacation and died of a Heart Attack. AW lost one of it's most loved characters and a good friend to all.)
Ken and Rachel began to work together in 1990, at his magazine Odyssey. They dated, but Rachel felt she was betraying Mac by dating so soon after his death. Rachel discovered he had seen Mac just before he died. Mitch warned Jamie he believed Rachel was endanger from Ken. Ken saved her life on 2 different occasions on their vacation to Arizona. Ken and Paulina planted a will and made it so Rachel found out Mac was Paulina’s father. Rachel and Ken got engaged and began planning a wedding. Rachel kicked Ken out of her life when she learned he hadn’t told her the truth about Paulina’s parentage, and lied about many things to her. Rachel hired a P.I. to find out who Paulina’s parents really were. Carl returned to Bay City in 1991, Rachel had Kathleen and Paulina move in with them so they could be protected from Carl. Rachel was attacked, and believed Carl was behind it. He was charged and she planned to testify against him. Rachel experience blurred vision from the attack and was not allowed to testify because of it. Carl did get convicted and sent to prison. Michael helped Rachel try to prepare for surgery to correct her sight. Her sight was restored and she and Michael were going to go to Hawaii together. Rachel changed her mind and they didn’t leave together for the trip. Carl was released from jail and came to Bay City again without incident. Rachel tried to get Felicia help for her alcoholism, but she refused. In April of 1992, Rachel’s mother, Ada died. A devastated Rachel told her family the news. Later that year Jake and Paulina split up. Jake attributed this to Rachel and vowed revenge on her. He began trying to take over Cory Publishing. Carl offered to sell Rachel his stocks, she declined, but later decided to team up with Carl to stop Jake in his tracks.