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Rachel Ward

Rachel Ward

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.

Personal information

Birthday

1957-09-12

Birth Place

Cornwell Manor, Cornwell, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Movies and TV shows :

poster

A Bite to Eat with Alice

2024

0.0

TV
After Dark, My Sweet

After Dark, My Sweet

1990

5.6

Movie
Against All Odds

Against All Odds

1984

5.7

Movie
And Never Let Her Go

And Never Let Her Go

2001

6.6

Movie
poster

And Never Let Her Go

2001

5.0

TV
And the Sea Will Tell

And the Sea Will Tell

1991

6.4

Movie
Black Magic

Black Magic

1992

3.3

Movie
poster

Blackbeard

2006

5.1

TV
Bobbie's Girl

Bobbie's Girl

2002

4.1

Movie
Christmas Lilies of the Field

Christmas Lilies of the Field

1979

5.0

Movie
Christopher Columbus: The Discovery

Christopher Columbus: The Discovery

1992

4.9

Movie
poster

Darby and Joan

2022

6.6

TV
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

1982

6.6

Movie
Double Jeopardy

Double Jeopardy

1992

5.2

Movie
Double Obsession

Double Obsession

1992

5.5

Movie
poster

Dynasty

1981

6.5

TV
Fortress

Fortress

1985

6.9

Movie
Hotel Colonial

Hotel Colonial

1987

5.3

Movie
How to Get Ahead in Advertising

How to Get Ahead in Advertising

1989

6.3

Movie
Johnson County War

Johnson County War

2002

5.5

Movie
poster

Monarch Cove

2006

9.5

TV
My Stepson, My Lover

My Stepson, My Lover

1997

3.3

Movie
Night School

Night School

1981

5.7

Movie
On the Beach

On the Beach

2000

6.1

Movie
Peter Rabbit

Peter Rabbit

2018

6.7

Movie
Rachel's Farm

Rachel's Farm

2023

7.5

Movie
poster

Rain Shadow

2007

0.0

TV
poster

Seasons of Love

1999

0.0

TV
Shadow of the Cobra

Shadow of the Cobra

1989

7.0

Movie
Sharky's Machine

Sharky's Machine

1981

6.0

Movie
The Ascent

The Ascent

1994

5.5

Movie
The Death and Life of Otto Bloom

The Death and Life of Otto Bloom

2017

7.3

Movie
The Final Terror

The Final Terror

1983

5.1

Movie
The Good Wife

The Good Wife

1987

4.8

Movie
poster

The Thorn Birds

1983

7.2

TV
Twisted

Twisted

1997

0.0

Movie
Wide Sargasso Sea

Wide Sargasso Sea

1993

5.0

Movie