1994–2000: Early work and critical recognition Griffiths portrayed Rhonda Epinstall, the best friend of
Toni Collette's titular character, in the 1994 film ''Muriel's Wedding''. Her performance won her critical acclaim and both the
Australian Film Critics Award and the
Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She followed in 1996 with the role of an earthy, ill-mannered pig farmer's daughter in
Michael Winterbottom's
Jude. In 1997, Griffiths sparked controversy after showing up uninvited at the opening of the
Crown Melbourne in
Melbourne, Australia. She was topless when she showed up at the new integrated resort. She stated a wish to protest the views taken by the media and state government towards the new casino, inspired by the story of
Lady Godiva. Griffiths joined forces again with ''Muriel's Wedding
director P. J. Hogan for her American film debut, My Best Friend's Wedding, in 1997. That same year she starred in My Son the Fanatic, a British film in which she portrayed a tough Yorkshire prostitute who becomes involved with a considerably older Pakistani taxicab driver, played by Om Puri. Griffiths received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of real-life flautist Hilary du Pré opposite Emily Watson as her sister, famed cellist Jacqueline "Jackie" du Pre, in Hilary and Jackie (1998). playing a lesbian hairdresser who enters a hairstyling competition with her lover, followed by the Ted Demme-directed Blow (2001) opposite Johnny Depp and Ray Liotta, in which she played the mother of Boston cocaine magnate George Jung. Nick Nunziata of IGN'' was critical of Griffiths' performance in the film, writing: "the only performance that doesn't ring true is that of Rachel Griffiths as Jung's mother...she just doesn't connect." as well as two
Emmy Award nominations over the series' five season-run. In the third season, she missed four episodes due to her first pregnancy; her second pregnancy was written into the show's final season and she appeared in almost every episode of the series. While starring on
Six Feet Under, Griffiths continued to occasionally appear in the films, playing the supportive housewife of
Dennis Quaid in the
Walt Disney drama
The Rookie (2002), and in the Australian biopic
Ned Kelly (2003), opposite
Heath Ledger,
Geoffrey Rush, and
Orlando Bloom. In the spring of 2002, In 2004, she played a key role in the Hallmark film adaptation of the Kent Haruf novel Plainsong. In 2006, she became part of the ensemble cast, co-starring alongside
Sally Field,
Calista Flockhart,
Balthazar Getty and
Matthew Rhys, of the dramatic series
Brothers & Sisters, in which she portrays
Sarah Walker, who inherits control of the family business after her father's death. Griffiths received a 2007
Emmy nomination and a 2008 Emmy nomination for her work on the series, followed by 2008 and 2009 Golden Globe nominations. Griffiths starred on the series until its conclusion in 2011. Additionally, she appeared as Inez Scull in the 2008 miniseries adaptation of
Larry McMurtry's
Comanche Moon. Griffiths made her
Broadway debut in
Other Desert Cities, directed by
Joe Mantello and co-starring
Judith Light,
Stockard Channing, and
Stacy Keach, which began previews on 10 October 2011, opening on 3 November 2011 in
Manhattan. David Rooney of
The Hollywood Reporter praised both Griffith's performance as well as the overall production, writing: "[The play] has acquired a riveting center in the raw performance of Rachel Griffiths, who makes a knockout New York stage debut. With discreet adjustments to the text and more penetrating characterizations all around from the sterling cast, the balance between comedy and intense family drama has been fine-tuned in richly satisfying ways". Ben Brantley of
The New York Times deemed her performance "a beautifully modulated Broadway debut".
2012–present: Return to Australia; directing In 2012, Griffiths returned to live in her native Australia, after having lived and worked in the United States for a decade. But the project stalled as the proposal for the film was rejected by the Australian television networks. In 2015, she made her debut as a television director when she directed three episodes of the second series of the Australian teen drama
Nowhere Boys. In 2016, Griffiths was cast opposite
Guy Pearce and
Mary-Louise Parker in the American miniseries
When We Rise, a docudrama focusing on
LGBT rights, in which she portrays a nurse during the
HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. The same year, she appeared in a supporting part opposite
Hugo Weaving in the
Mel Gibson-directed war drama
Hacksaw Ridge, which earned her an
AACTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2018, she appears in the
SBS thriller miniseries
Dead Lucky, which was sold for American distribution to the streaming service
SundanceNow in April 2018. In 2020, Griffiths starred in the
Amazon Prime television show,
The Wilds, as Gretchen Klein. In 2023, Griffiths was announced as the lead role for New Zealand comedy-drama series
Madam. In 2024, Griffiths appeared in the final season of ABC political drama
Total Control, after appearing in the two previous seasons, she also served as executive producer on the 3 series show.
. ==Other ventures==