Rachel Ward

Acting

Rachel Ward

Born 1957-09-12 · Cornwell Manor, Cornwell, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Rachel Claire Ward (born September 12, 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.

Acting credits

Peter Rabbit poster
6.7

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.

Peter Rabbit

2018

Christopher Columbus: The Discovery poster
4.8

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.

Christopher Columbus: The Discovery

1992

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid poster
6.6

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'.

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

1982

Whale Shark Jack poster
10.0

Sarah, 12, lives on a boat with her parents, who research whale sharks. Her only friend is a whale shark named Jack, who Sarah rescued when he was a pup. But following a tragic accident, mum and Sarah move to the coastal town of Exmouth. Desperate to return to her old life, Sarah pegs all her hopes on Jack, certain that when his migration brings him back to Exmouth, mum will take her out on the boat again. But Jack fails to return, so Sarah embarks on a risky mission to find him.

Whale Shark Jack

2026

Against All Odds poster
5.7

Terry Brogan, a cynical former football star, is hired to find Jessie Wyler, the runaway mistress of ruthless LA nightclub owner Jake Wise. But trouble brews when he tracks down and falls in love with the beautiful Jessie on a Mexican island—and Jake dispatches his henchman to bring the lovers back.

Against All Odds

1984

Sharky's Machine poster
6.2

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.

Sharky's Machine

1981

On the Beach poster
6.2

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 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.

On the Beach

2000

And Never Let Her Go poster
6.7

The true story of a woman's suspicious disappearance after ending an affair with a powerful, married attorney.

And Never Let Her Go

2001

The Final Terror poster
5.0

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.

The Final Terror

1983

Double Jeopardy poster
5.2

When his lover is accused of murder, a Salt Lake City family man is her eyewitness and his wife is her attorney.

Double Jeopardy

1992

Night School poster
5.7

A Boston police detective investigates a series of gruesome decapitations of various college coeds, committed by a helmeted, black-leather clad serial killer.

Night School

1981

My Stepson, My Lover poster
3.6

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.

My Stepson, My Lover

1997

Wide Sargasso Sea poster
4.9

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.

Wide Sargasso Sea

1993

Fortress poster
6.9

After being kidnapped by four masked men, a teacher and her students rebel by plotting against the criminals.

Fortress

1985

The Good Wife poster
5.3

In pre-WWII Australia, a love triangle develops between a man, his wife and the man's brother.

The Good Wife

1987

Twisted poster
8.0

Four unsuspecting victims find themselves beyond "The Twilight Zone" in a twisted and altered reality: an airline passenger thinks he's lost his identity... a bored housewife thinks she's found romance... a conman thinks he's made his mark... and a hired killer thinks she's ready to retire. Unfortunately for all of them, they soon discover that there's nothing like reality to get in the way of an otherwise perfectly twisted perspective. Things are never quite that simple.

Twisted

1997

And the Sea Will Tell poster
6.3

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?

And the Sea Will Tell

1991

Hotel Colonial poster
5.4

Marco Veniera goes to Bogotá, Colombia 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.

Hotel Colonial

1987

After Dark, My Sweet poster
5.7

Three desperados try to kidnap a wealthy child in hope of turning their lives around.

After Dark, My Sweet

1990

How to Get Ahead in Advertising poster
6.3

Pressure from his boss and a skin-cream client produces a talking boil on a British adman's neck.

How to Get Ahead in Advertising

1989

The Last Impresario poster
5.5

Michael White might just be the most famous person you’ve never heard of. A notorious London theatre and film impresario, he produced over 300 shows and movies over the last 50 years. Bringing to the stage the risqué productions of Oh! Calcutta!, The Rocky Horror Show and to the screen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as well as introducing Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch and Yoko Ono to London audiences, he irrevocably shaped the cultural scene of the 1970s London.

The Last Impresario

2014

Double Obsession poster
4.8

A disturbed lesbian librarian kidnaps a beautiful young woman she's obsessed with, breaks her foot to keep her incapacitated, then starts to kill off people she believes are intruding in their "relationship".

Double Obsession

1992

Johnson County War poster
5.5

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.

Johnson County War

2002

Black Magic poster
4.1

A young man is tormented by visions of his dead cousin who attempts to warn him of a Witch capable of casting deadly spells!

Black Magic

1992

Behind the camera

Palm Beach poster
5.3

A group of lifelong friends reunite to celebrate a special birthday, with Sydney's iconic Palm Beach providing a stunning backdrop for the unfolding drama. The good times roll, with loads of laughter, lavish meals, flowing wine and fantastic music, but slowly tensions mount and deep secrets arise.

Palm Beach

2019

Palm Beach poster
5.3

A group of lifelong friends reunite to celebrate a special birthday, with Sydney's iconic Palm Beach providing a stunning backdrop for the unfolding drama. The good times roll, with loads of laughter, lavish meals, flowing wine and fantastic music, but slowly tensions mount and deep secrets arise.

Palm Beach

2019

Beautiful Kate poster
5.7

Ned Kendall is asked to return to the remote and isolated family home by his sister, to say goodbye to his father who is dying. Ned also brings his young aspiring actress fiancee who struggles with the isolation. When home he starts having memories of his childhood many involving his beautiful twin sister and his older brother. These memories awaken long-buried secrets from the family's past.

Beautiful Kate

2009

Beautiful Kate poster
5.7

Ned Kendall is asked to return to the remote and isolated family home by his sister, to say goodbye to his father who is dying. Ned also brings his young aspiring actress fiancee who struggles with the isolation. When home he starts having memories of his childhood many involving his beautiful twin sister and his older brother. These memories awaken long-buried secrets from the family's past.

Beautiful Kate

2009

An Accidental Soldier poster
5.7

An unexpected love story set in WW1 France between a young Australian baker who has deserted the front line, and a grieving French woman, who puts her own life at risk by sheltering him from the authorities.

An Accidental Soldier

2013

The Big House poster
3.6

Within the concrete confines of a life sentence, one man rediscovers his capacity for love.

The Big House

2001

The Big House poster
3.6

Within the concrete confines of a life sentence, one man rediscovers his capacity for love.

The Big House

2001

Rachel's Farm poster
6.3

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.

Rachel's Farm

2023

No artwork available
6.5

It's Martha's birthday and the day is not turning out so well. Martha decides to get out of town and seek some excitement on the coast.

Martha's New Coat

2003