Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is a British and Australian actress. She gained recognition as an actress for her performance in the American television miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983), which earned her one of three Golden Globe Award nominations.
Her other notable films include Sharky's Machine (1981), Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), and Against All Odds (1984). Her 2009 film Beautiful Kate earned her AACTA Award nominations for Best Direction and Best Screenplay. Ward is the wife of actor Bryan Brown and the mother of actress Matilda Brown.
Early life and education
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Rachel Claire Ward was born in England on 12 September 1957. She is eldest daughter of Claire and Peter Alistair Ward, who was the third son of William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley. Her great-grandfather, William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, was Governor-General of Australia 1908-11. Ward's younger sister, Tracy Louise Ward, former Duchess of Beaufort, is a former actress and an environmental campaigner.
Ward grew up in Cornwell Manor, in Cornwell, Oxfordshire,
Ward's parents divorced when she was twelve, and both remarried. Her father had two then the Byam Shaw School of Art in Kensington, West London. She left school at age 16 to become a fashion and photography model.
Career
During her modelling career, Ward 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". Time referred to her as "the face of the 80s"..
In 1981, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as "New Star of the Year" for her role in the crime drama film Sharky's Machine starring with Burt Reynolds. The following year, she starred in the comedy 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. Ward assigns much of the credit for this breakthrough performance to acting coach Sandra Seacat, first for simply helping her get the job (after her disastrous first reading) and then for the quality of the finished performance, assembled over the course of a gruelling five-month shooting schedule, while undergoing a simultaneous and no less gruelling makeover programme at the hands of Seacat. Also in 1983, U.S. audiences voted Ward one of the world's 10 most beautiful women. 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. That film also won the 2003 ATOM Award.
In 2006, Ward acted in Kevin Connor's mini-series Blackbeard, made for the Hallmark Channel.
In 2007, Ward returned to television, headlining the new ABC drama Rain Shadow. She played a country veterinarian named Kate McDonald, a free spirit who confronts personal and professional obstacles in a rural, drought-affected town.
In 2009, she directed her first feature-length film titled Beautiful Kate, which she adapted from a 1982 Newton Thornburg novel. It premiered at the Sydney Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Film. It subsequently earned Ward AACTA Award nominations for Best Direction and Best Screenplay.
Ward runs a farm with her family in rural New South Wales. The farm was the subject of a 2023 documentary, Rachel's Farm, which Ward co-directed.
In 2005, Ward 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".
Personal life
As a young woman, Ward briefly dated David Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy. Ward married Australian actor Bryan Brown in 1983. They have three children, including Matilda.
She became an Australian citizen around 1986.
Filmography
Actress
Film
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Type
|-
| rowspan="2" |1981
|Night School
|Eleanor Adjai
|
|-
|Sharky's Machine
|Dominoe
|
|-
|1982
|Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
|Juliet Forrest
|
|-
|1983
|'
|Margaret
|Filmed in 1981
|-
|1984
|Against All Odds
|Jessie Wyler
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1987
|Hotel Colonial
|Irene Costa
|
|-
|'
|Marge Hills
|
|-
|1989
|How to Get Ahead in Advertising
|Julia Bagley
|
|-
|1990
|After Dark, My Sweet
|Fay Anderson
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1992
|Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
|Isabella I of Castile
|
|-
|Double Obsession
|Grandmother
|
|-
|1993
|Wide Sargasso Sea
|Annette Cosway
|
|-
|1994
|'
|Patricia
|
|-
|2007
|Shotgun! [An Opening Sequence]
|Adrianna
|Short film
|-
|2011
|Free Rain
|Herself
|rowspan=2|Documentary
|-
|2013
|The Last Impresario
| Interviewee
|-
|2016
|'
|Ada Fitzgerald
|
|-
|2018
|Peter Rabbit
|Josephine Rabbit (voice)
|
|-
|2020
|I Am Burt Reynolds
| rowspan="2" |Herself
|Documentary
|-
|2023
|Rachel’s Farm
|Documentary; also director
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|1979
|Christmas Lilies of the Field
|Jenny
| TV movie
|-
|1981
|Dynasty
|Edna Macready
|Episode "The Dinner Party"
|-
| 1983
|'
| Meghan 'Meggie' Cleary
| Miniseries
|-
|1985
|Fortress
|Sally Jones
| TV movie
|-
|1988
|Mike Willessee's Australians
|Vivian Bullwinkel
| Episode "Vivian Bullwinkel"
|-
| 1989
|Shadow of the Cobra
| Chris Royston
| Miniseries
|-
|1991
|And the Sea Will Tell
| Jennifer Jenkins
| rowspan="3" | TV movie
|-
| rowspan="2" |1992
|Black Magic
| Lillian Blatman
|-
|Double Jeopardy
| Lisa Burns Donnelly
|-
|1996
|Twisted Tales
|Sara
|Episode "Third Party"
|-
|1997
|My Stepson, My Lover
|Caitlin Cory / Wife
| TV movie
|-
| 1999
|Seasons of Love
| Kate Linthorne
| Miniseries
|-
|2000
|On the Beach
|Moira Davidson
| rowspan="4" | TV movie
|-
|2001
|And Never Let Her Go
|Christine Sheve
|-
| rowspan="2" |2002
|Bobbie's Girl
|Roberta Langham
|-
|Johnson County War
|Queenie
|-
| rowspan="2" |2006
|Blackbeard
| Sally Dunbar
| Miniseries
|-
|Monarch Cove
| Arianna Preston
| 14 episodes
|-
|2007
|Rain Shadow
|Kate McDonald
|6 episodes
|-
|2022
|Darby and Joan
| English Sat Nav
|1 episode
|}
Filmmaker
Film
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Writer
! Notes
|-
| 2000
| Blindman's Bluff
|
|
| rowspan="2" | Short film
|-
| 2001
| '
|
|
|-
| 2003
| Martha's New Coat
|
|
|
|-
| 2009
| Beautiful Kate
|
|
|
|-
| 2019
| Palm Beach
|
|
|
|-
|2023
|Rachel’s Farm
|
|
|Documentary
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Notes
|-
|2006
| Two Twisted
| Episode: "Heart Attack"
|-
|2006
|Knot at Home Project
|Documentary series
|-
| 2010
| Rake
| Episodes: "R vs Dana", "R vs Lorton"
|-
| 2011
| My Place
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2012
| '
| 3 episodes
|-
| 2013
| '
| TV movie
|-
| 2014
| Devil's Playground
| 3 episodes
|}
Theatre credits
Ward's stage performances include:
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Type
! Venue
!Notes
|-
| 1989 || A Doll’s House || || rowspan="3" | Ensemble Theatre, Sydney
|
|-
| 1990 || Hopping to Byzantium || Jessica Fox
|
|-
| 1997 || Keyboard Skills ||
|
|-
| 1998 || The Piccadilly Bushman || Meg Ritchie || Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne
|with Playbox Theatre Company
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
!Institution
! Year
! Category
! Work
!Result
|-
| rowspan="5" |AACTA Awards
| rowspan="2" |2001
|Best Short Fiction Film
| rowspan="2" |The Big House
|
|-
|Best Screenplay in a Short Film
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2009
|Best Direction
| rowspan="2" |Beautiful Kate
|
|-
|Best Screenplay, Adapted
|
|-
|2014
|Best Direction in Television
|An Accidental Soldier
|
|-
|Antipodean Film Festival
|2010
|Best Feature Film
|Beautiful Kate
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |Australian Directors' Guild
|2009
|Best Direction in a Feature Film
|Beautiful Kate
|
|-
|2012
|Best Direction in a Children's TV Program
|My Place
|
|-
|2014
|Best Direction in a Telemovie
|An Accidental Soldier
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards
| 2010|| Best Director
|Beautiful Kate
|
|-
| 2024|| Best Documentary Feature||Rachel's Farm
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |Golden Globe Awards
| 1982|| New Star of the Year – Actress||Sharky's Machine
|
|-
|1984
| rowspan="2" |Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
|The Thorn Birds
|
|-
|2001
|On the Beach
|
|-
|Palm Springs International Film Festival
| 2010|| New Voices Grand Jury Prize||Beautiful Kate
|
|-
|Santa Barbara International Film Festival
|2023
|Best Documentary Film
|Rachel's Farm
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |Sydney Film Festival
|2009
|Best Film
|Beautiful Kate
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2023
|Best Documentary Film
| rowspan="2" |Rachel's Farm
|
|-
|Sustainable Future Award
|
|-
|Tokyo International Film Festival
|1987
|Best Actress
|The Umbrella Woman
|
|}