Rachel Messerer was born in Vilnius into the Lithuanian Jewish family of dentist Mikhail Messerer and his wife Sima Shabad.I'm Maya Plisetskaya. 490 p. Moscow: AST Moscow, 2008.Sulamif Messerer: "I want to live!" She was one of nine children: each child was given a biblical name: Pnina, Azariah, Mattany, Rachel, Asaf (or Assaf), Elisheva, Sulamith (or Shulamith), Emanuel, Abinadab and Erella. Rachel, her brother Azari Azarin (an actor), sister Sulamith Messerer (ballerina) and brother Asaf Messerer (ballet dancer, choreographer) became famous and started a dynasty of outstanding ballet dancers and ballet masters.
