1957-09-12 ( 67 years old ) in Cornwell Manor, Cornwell, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Rachel Claire Ward AM (born 12 September 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.
Movies
Rachel's Farm
2023-08-03
Peter Rabbit
2018-02-07
The Death and Life of Otto Bloom
2017-03-16
Johnson County War
2002-08-24
Bobbie's Girl
2002-06-09
And Never Let Her Go
2001-04-01
On the Beach
2000-05-28
My Stepson, My Lover
1997-06-25
Twisted
1997-01-01
The Ascent
1994-09-15
Wide Sargasso Sea
1993-04-16
Double Jeopardy
1992-11-21
Black Magic
1992-09-21
Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
1992-08-20
Double Obsession
1992-01-01
And the Sea Will Tell
1991-02-24
After Dark, My Sweet
1990-08-24
Shadow of the Cobra
1989-07-18
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
1989-05-05
The Good Wife
1987-05-14
Hotel Colonial
1987-01-08
Fortress
1985-11-24
Against All Odds
1984-03-02
The Final Terror
1983-05-01
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982-05-21
Sharky's Machine
1981-12-18
Night School
1981-01-07
Christmas Lilies of the Field
1979-12-16
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