Rachel Ward

Rachel Claire Ward was born in England on 12 September 1957. She is eldest daughter of Claire and Peter Alistair Ward, who was the son of the William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley. Ward's younger sister, Tracy Louise Ward, the Duchess of Beaufort and a former actress, is 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. ==Recognition and honours==

{{External media|image1=1970s photo of Ward with Peter Cook by Michael White, The Daily Telegraph In 2003, a portrait of Ward by artist Jan Williamson won the Packing Room Prize at the Archibald Prize competition. 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 Television Filmmaker Film Television == Theatre credits ==

Ward's stage performances include: == Awards and nominations ==