Rachel Ward

Rachel Ward

Born: September 12, 1957
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 for Rachel Ward...

Rachel's Farm
Title: Rachel's Farm
Character: Self
Released: August 3, 2023
Type: Movie
Award-winning film director and actress Rachel Ward is the last person you’d expect to join a farming revolution. Following the birth of her first grandchild, Rachel is confronted head-on by the impact of our climate crisis as Australia’s Black Summer fires descend on her farm. Besieged by drought and ecological despair, Rachel finds hope in the soil beneath her feet and embarks on a journey of discovery to regenerate the land on her farm, and herself.
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Title: Darby and Joan
Character: English Sat Nav (Voice)
Released: August 8, 2022
Type: TV
An English widow on a reluctant quest. An Australian detective escaping his past. When lives collide, two strangers embark on an epic outback odyssey together.
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Peter Rabbit
Title: Peter Rabbit
Character: Josephine Rabbit (voice)
Released: February 7, 2018
Type: Movie
Peter Rabbit's feud with Mr. McGregor escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door.
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The Death and Life of Otto Bloom
Title: The Death and Life of Otto Bloom
Character: Ada
Released: March 16, 2017
Type: Movie
The chronicle of the life and great love of Otto Bloom, an extraordinary man who experiences time in reverse - passing backwards through the years only remembering the future.
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Title: Rain Shadow
Character: Kate McDonald
Released: October 7, 2007
Type: TV
Rain Shadow is an Australian television drama series which premiered on 7 October 2007 on ABC TV. It aired on Sundays at 8.30 pm. The six-part series was produced by Southern Star. Music from The Audreys features in the soundtrack for the show, including the main theme. Rain Shadow was shot in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia and is set in the fictional district of Paringa, a dry land farming area in a rain shadow. It tells the story of two characters who become the means of each other's future. It stars Rachel Ward as district vet Kate McDonald and Victoria Thaine as new veterinary assistant Jill Blake.
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Title: Monarch Cove
Released: November 4, 2006
Type: TV
Monarch Cove is a prime time telenovela that premiered on Lifetime Television on November 4, 2006. It ran for 14 episodes, ending on December 16, 2006.
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Title: Blackbeard
Character: Sally Dunbar
Released: June 17, 2006
Type: TV
Bristol, England, 1717. Lieutenant Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy scouts the seas in order to restore safe passage to the sea lanes. He meets his match when he's taken by a fearsome hulk of a menace in the West Indies—a pirate sailing off the Island of St. Vincent. Edward Teach has no plans for retirement. In fact, his goal-to find and lay claim to the fabled treasures of Captain Kidd.
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Title: Johnson County War
Character: Queenie
Released: August 24, 2002
Type: TV
The three Hammett brothers are caught in a conflict that escalates rapidly and the old farmers facing against new farmers who have settled in the green grasslands.
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Johnson County War
Title: Johnson County War
Character: Queenie
Released: August 24, 2002
Type: Movie
The three Hammett brothers, Cain, Harry and Dale are caught in a conflict that escalates rapidly and the old farmers facing against new farmers who have settled in the green grasslands.
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Bobbie's Girl
Title: Bobbie's Girl
Character: Roberta Langham
Released: June 9, 2002
Type: Movie
Two middle-aged lesbians find their lives complicated when one of them takes in her ten-year-old nephew.
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Title: And Never Let Her Go
Character: Christine Sheve
Released: April 1, 2001
Type: TV
The true story of a woman's suspicious disappearance after ending an affair with a powerful, married attorney.
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And Never Let Her Go
Title: And Never Let Her Go
Character: Christine Sheve
Released: April 1, 2001
Type: Movie
The true story of a woman's suspicious disappearance after ending an affair with a powerful, married attorney.
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On the Beach
Title: On the Beach
Character: Moira Davidson
Released: May 28, 2000
Type: Movie
The world has finally managed to blow itself up and only Australia has been spared from nuclear destruction and a gigantic wave of radiation is floating in on the breezes. One American sub located in the Pacific has survived and is met with disdain by the Australians. The calculations of Australia's most renowned scientist says the country is doomed. However, one of his rivals says that he is wrong. He believes that a 1000 people can be relocated to the northern hemisphere, where his assumptions indicate the radiation levels may be lower. The American Captain is asked to take a mission to the north to determine which scientist is right.
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Title: Seasons of Love
Character: Kate Linthorne
Released: July 3, 1999
Type: TV
Thomas Linthorne is a farmer, who, with his bride, Kate, settles a parcel of untilled Midwestern farmland in 1866. Linthorne is a dynamic and driven man who eventually becomes a pillar of the close-knit community. But there are trials and tribulations that eventually plague his dreams of the perfect life he has tried to create for his family. Over the span of fifty years, the Linthorne family will weather more than their share of hardship that affects each of them in dramatic ways. The Linthorne saga, set against the daily rituals and chores of life on the land, reveals the determination, strength and indomitable spirit of the families who settled America.
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Seasons of Love
Title: Seasons of Love
Character: Kate Linthorne
Released: March 7, 1999
Type: Movie
Sprawling tale spanning 50 years in the life of the fictional Linthorne family as seen through the eyes of the rugged head of the clan as he and his wife weather the years of hardship on the prairie after settling on a parcel of untilled Midwestern farmland in 1866 in hopes of living a prosperous life together.
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My Stepson, My Lover
Title: My Stepson, My Lover
Character: Caitlin Cory
Released: June 25, 1997
Type: Movie
A kind nurse finds herself embroiled in a tense and potentially deadly family affair when she falls for the son of her ruthless new husband.
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Twisted Tales
Title: Twisted Tales
Released: January 1, 1996
Type: Movie
In a prelude to the series of the same name, Bryan Brown introduces stories of the bizarre and the supernatural. Sometimes serious, often comical, but always with a twist at the end of the story.
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The Ascent
Title: The Ascent
Character: Patricia
Released: September 15, 1994
Type: Movie
The real-life adventure of a dashing Italian soldier who escapes a British prisoner-of-war camp because he dreams of climbing 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya and planting the Italian flag at the summit. The obsessive British camp commander pursues him, and the two men are locked in a battle of wills, fuelled by honor and their love for the same woman.
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Wide Sargasso Sea
Title: Wide Sargasso Sea
Character: Annette Cosway
Released: April 16, 1993
Type: Movie
In the wake of Jamaican emancipation, French colonist Annette Cosway falls into poverty and marries racist Englishman Paul Mason. But when Annette's young son dies in a fire started by former slaves, Mason flees to England, leaving his grief-stricken wife and her Creole daughter Antoinette behind. Soon Antoinette learns she must marry to claim her inheritance and sets her sights on Rochester, an Englishman eerily similar to Mason.
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Double Jeopardy
Title: Double Jeopardy
Character: Lisa Burns Donnelly
Released: November 21, 1992
Type: Movie
Jack Hart lives with his lawyer wife and yound daughter and enjoys a wonderful life. Jack's old girlfriend, Lisa, comes into town and they have an affair. Lisa kills her current boyfriend in self-defense and Jack witnesses the whole thing. Lisa goes on trial for murder with Jack's wife as her lawyer. As the movie progresses Lisa's devious side becomes known and make for an interesting conclusion
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Black Magic
Title: Black Magic
Character: Lillian Blatman
Released: September 21, 1992
Type: Movie
A young man is tormented by visions of his dead cousin who attempts to warn him of a Witch capable of casting deadly spells!
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Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
Title: Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
Character: Queen Isabella
Released: August 20, 1992
Type: Movie
Genoan navigator Christopher Columbus has a dream to find an alternative route to sail to the Indies, by traveling west instead of east, across the unchartered Ocean sea. After failing to find backing from the Portugese, he goes to the Spanish court to ask Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand for help. After surviving a grilling from the Head of the Spanish Inquisition Tomas de Torquemada, he eventually gets the blessing from Queen Isabella and sets sail in three ships to travel into the unknown. Along the way he must deal with sabotage from Portugese spies and mutiny from a rebellious crew.
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Double Obsession
Title: Double Obsession
Character: Grandmother
Released: January 1, 1992
Type: Movie
A lesbian librarian kidnaps a beautiful woman she's obsessed with.
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And the Sea Will Tell
Title: And the Sea Will Tell
Character: Jennifer Jenkins
Released: February 24, 1991
Type: Movie
A wealthy couple (James Brolin and Deidre Hall) are killed on their yacht off the coast of a secluded South American island called Palmyra. The suspects are a hippyish pair (Hart Bochner and Rachel Ward) whom the rich folks had befriended. It’s fairly clear that the hippies were involved in the crime: The question is, did the man do it while the girl looked on helplessly, or was she a willing accomplice?
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After Dark, My Sweet
Title: After Dark, My Sweet
Character: Fay Anderson
Released: August 24, 1990
Type: Movie
The intriguing relationship between three desperados, who try to kidnap a wealthy child in hope of turning their lives around.
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Shadow of the Cobra
Title: Shadow of the Cobra
Character: Chris Royston
Released: July 18, 1989
Type: Movie
Dramatisation of the story of notorious Indian serial killer Charles Sobhraj (b. 1944), who preyed on Western tourists throughout South East Asia during the 1970s.
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How to Get Ahead in Advertising
Title: How to Get Ahead in Advertising
Character: Julia Bagley
Released: May 5, 1989
Type: Movie
Pressure from his boss and a skin-cream client produces a talking boil on a British adman's neck.
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The Good Wife
Title: The Good Wife
Character: Marge Hills
Released: May 14, 1987
Type: Movie
In pre-WWII Australia, a love triangle develops between a man, his wife and the man's brother.
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Hotel Colonial
Title: Hotel Colonial
Character: Irene Costa
Released: January 8, 1987
Type: Movie
Marco Veniera goes to Bogota, Columbia to find his brother, Luca who supposedly committed suicide. In his search, he meets fiery and exotic Irene Costa, who leads him into the depths of the Amazon jungle. But it's every man for himself. And brotherly love turns to hate.
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Fortress
Title: Fortress
Character: Sally Jones
Released: November 24, 1985
Type: Movie
After being kidnapped by four masked men, a teacher and her students rebel by plotting against the criminals.
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Against All Odds
Title: Against All Odds
Character: Jessie Wyler
Released: March 2, 1984
Type: Movie
She was a beautiful fugitive. Fleeing from corruption. From power. He was a professional athlete past his prime. Hired to find her, he grew to love her. Love turned to obsession. Obsession turned to murder. And now the price of freedom might be nothing less than their lives.
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The Final Terror
Title: The Final Terror
Character: Margaret
Released: May 1, 1983
Type: Movie
A group of friends head out for what is expected to be a vacation of hiking, camping and a good time, but when a backwoods mama finds them on her turf, it becomes anything but a vacation.
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Title: The Thorn Birds
Character: Meggie Cleary
Released: March 27, 1983
Type: TV
The story based on a novel by Colleen McCullough focuses on three generations of the Cleary family living on a sheep station in the Australian outback.
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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Title: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Character: Juliet Forrest
Released: May 21, 1982
Type: Movie
Juliet Forrest is convinced that the reported death of her father in a mountain car crash was no accident. Her father was a prominent cheese scientist working on a secret recipe. To prove it was murder, she enlists the services of private eye Rigby Reardon. He finds a slip of paper containing a list of people who are 'The Friends and Enemies of Carlotta'.
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Sharky's Machine
Title: Sharky's Machine
Character: Domino
Released: December 18, 1981
Type: Movie
Police officer Tom Sharky gets busted back to working vice, where he happens upon a scandalous conspiracy involving a local politician. Sharky's new 'machine' gathers evidence while Sharky falls in love with a woman he has never met.
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Title: Dynasty
Released: January 12, 1981
Type: TV
The saga of a wealthy Denver family in the oil business: Blake Carrington, the patriarch; Krystle, his former secretary and wife; his children: Adam, lost in childhood after a kidnapping; Fallon, pampered and spoiled; Steven, openly gay; and Amanda, hidden from him by his ex-wife, the conniving Alexis. Most of the show features the conflict between 2 large corporations, Blake's Denver Carrington and Alexis' ColbyCo.
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Night School
Title: Night School
Character: Eleanor Adjai
Released: January 7, 1981
Type: Movie
A Boston police detective investigates a series of gruesome decapitations of various college coeds, committed by a helmeted, black-leather clad serial killer.
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Christmas Lilies of the Field
Title: Christmas Lilies of the Field
Character: Jenny
Released: December 16, 1979
Type: Movie
In this belated sequel to 'Lilies of the Field' (1963), jack-of-all-trades Homer Smith revisits the chapel in the Arizona desert that he helped build for five German nuns under the supervision of Mother Maria, and he reluctantly helps them out of a pinch once more.