13 Facts About Rachel Ward

Rachel Claire Ward was born on 12 September 1957 and is an English-Australian actress, film director, screenwriter and television director.

Rachel Ward's grandfathers were William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley and the cricketer Giles Baring.

Rachel Ward attended Hatherop Castle School, Hatherop, Gloucestershire, then the Byam Shaw School of Art in Kensington, West London.

Rachel Ward left school at age 16 to become a fashion and photography model.

Rachel Ward briefly dated David Kennedy, son of Robert F Kennedy.

Rachel Ward assigns much of the credit for this breakthrough performance to acting coach Sandra Seacat, first for simply helping her get the job 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.

Rachel Ward reappeared in 1987 playing opposite her husband, Bryan Brown, in The Umbrella Woman.

Also in 2001, Rachel Ward won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Short Fiction Film for The Big House, and Best Australian Film at Flickerfest.

In 2005, Rachel 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".

In 2006, Rachel Ward acted in Kevin Connor's mini-series Blackbeard, made for the Hallmark Channel.

In 2007, Rachel Ward returned to television, headlining the new ABC drama Rain Shadow.

Rachel Ward played a country veterinarian named Kate McDonald, a free spirit who confronts personal and professional obstacles in a rural, drought-affected town.

Rachel Ward has been married to the Australian actor Bryan Brown since 1983.