RACHEL WARD
Name: Rachel Claire Ward
Born: 12 September 1957 Chipping Norton,Oxfordshire
Rachel Claire Ward, AM, (born at Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, September 12,
1957), granddaughter of the 3rd Earl of Dudley and of the cricketer Giles Baring,
is an English actress (and more recently, a director) who has primarily pursued
her career in Australia. She attended the Byam Shaw School of Art in London
before leaving at 16 to become a top fashion model. In 1983 she was voted one of
the ten most beautiful women in the United States.
She became well known when she starred opposite Richard Chamberlain as the lead
role portraying Meggie Cleary in the television mini-series The Thorn Birds. She
disappeared from pictures for three years and studied acting. Ward then
reappeared in 1987, playing opposite her husband, Bryan Brown (whom she met on
the set of The Thorn Birds), in The Good Wife. Married since 1983, they have
three children: Rose (Rosie), Matilda (who has followed her parents into the
acting profession), and Joe.
She briefly dated David Kennedy, son of Robert F Kennedy. In 2003, a portrait of
Rachel Ward by artist Jan Williamson won the Packing Room award at the Archibald
Prize competition.
In 2007, Ward returned to television, headlining the new ABC Drama Rain Shadow.
She is playing a country veterinarian named Kate McDonald, a free spirit who
confronts personal and professional obstacles in a rural, drought-affected town.
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." Ward was a presenter for Best
Cinematography at the 1982 Academy Awards.
Name: Rachel Claire Ward
Born: 12 September 1957 Chipping Norton,Oxfordshire
Rachel Claire Ward, AM, (born at Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, September 12,
1957), granddaughter of the 3rd Earl of Dudley and of the cricketer Giles Baring,
is an English actress (and more recently, a director) who has primarily pursued
her career in Australia. She attended the Byam Shaw School of Art in London
before leaving at 16 to become a top fashion model. In 1983 she was voted one of
the ten most beautiful women in the United States.
She became well known when she starred opposite Richard Chamberlain as the lead
role portraying Meggie Cleary in the television mini-series The Thorn Birds. She
disappeared from pictures for three years and studied acting. Ward then
reappeared in 1987, playing opposite her husband, Bryan Brown (whom she met on
the set of The Thorn Birds), in The Good Wife. Married since 1983, they have
three children: Rose (Rosie), Matilda (who has followed her parents into the
acting profession), and Joe.
She briefly dated David Kennedy, son of Robert F Kennedy. In 2003, a portrait of
Rachel Ward by artist Jan Williamson won the Packing Room award at the Archibald
Prize competition.
In 2007, Ward returned to television, headlining the new ABC Drama Rain Shadow.
She is playing a country veterinarian named Kate McDonald, a free spirit who
confronts personal and professional obstacles in a rural, drought-affected town.
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." Ward was a presenter for Best
Cinematography at the 1982 Academy Awards.