Rachel Ward

Known for ActingBorn 1957-09-12 (age 68)Cornwell Manor, Cornwell, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Rachel Claire Ward (born September 12, 1957) is an English-Australian actress, film and television director, screenwriter, and former model who has primarily pursued her career in Australia. During her modelling career, she was featured on the covers of Vogue, Harper's & Queen, and Cosmopolitan magazines. After moving to the United States in 1977, she appeared in television advertisements such as the Lincoln Mercury "Cougar Girl" and Revlon's "Scoundrel Girl". In 1981, she received a Golden Globe Award nomination for "New Star of the Year" for her role in the film Sharky's Machine starring with Burt Reynolds. The following year, she starred in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid with Steve Martin. Her big break came in 1983, when she starred opposite Richard Chamberlain as the lead role portraying Meggie Cleary in the television miniseries The Thorn Birds, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. Also in 1983, U.S. audiences voted Ward one of the world's 10 most beautiful women. In 1984, she played Jess in the film noir remake Against All Odds, with Jeff Bridges. After filming Fortress in 1985, she then disappeared from film for a few years to study acting. In 2001, she was again nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for her role in On the Beach (2000). Also in 2001, she won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Short Fiction Film for The Big House, and Best Australian Film at Flickerfest. The film also won the Film Critics Circle of Australia award, as did her 2003 film Martha's New Coat — which also won the 2003 ATOM Award. In 2005, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia "for service to raising awareness of social justice through lobbying, mentoring and advocacy for the rights of disadvantaged and at-risk young people, and support for the Australian film and television industry". In 2009, she directed her first feature-length film titled Beautiful Kate, adapted by Ward from a 1982 Newton Thornburg novel, and premiered at the Sydney Film Festival. She has been married to the Australian actor Bryan Brown since 1983. They have three children: Rosie, Matilda, and Joe. Matilda Brown is an actress, writer and director.Read more

Movies & web series

Whale Shark Jack

On the Beach

Monarch Cove

Shadow of the Cobra

Seasons of Love

Twisted

Twisted Tales

The Death and Life of Otto Bloom

The Thorn Birds

And Never Let Her Go

Peter Rabbit

Two Twisted

Fortress

And Never Let Her Go

Rachel's Farm

Martha's New Coat

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

The Ascent

Dynasty

The Straits

Darby and Joan

On the Beach

And the Sea Will Tell

How to Get Ahead in Advertising

Sharky's Machine

An Accidental Soldier

Christmas Lilies of the Field

Beautiful Kate

The Last Impresario

After Dark, My Sweet

Rain Shadow

Against All Odds

Blackbeard

Night School

Palm Beach

Johnson County War

Hotel Colonial

Double Jeopardy

The Good Wife

The Final Terror

Wide Sargasso Sea

Christopher Columbus: The Discovery

Double Obsession

Bobbie's Girl

Black Magic

The Big House

My Stepson, My Lover

A Bite to Eat with Alice