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Rachel Ward

Rachel Ward, English-Australian actress

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Born
September 12, 1957
Age in 2026
69
Zodiac sign
Virgo
Birth year
1957

About Rachel Ward

Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is a British and Australian actress. She gained recognition as an actress for her performance in the American television miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983), which earned her one of three Golden Globe Award nominations. Her other notable films include Sharky's Machine (1981), Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), and Against All Odds (1984). Her 2009 film Beautiful Kate earned her AACTA Award nominations for Best Direction and Best Screenplay. Ward is married to actor Bryan Brown and the mother of actress Matilda Brown. == Early life and education == Rachel Claire Ward was born in England on 12 September 1957. She is the eldest daughter of Claire and Peter Alistair Ward, who was the third son of William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley. Her great-grandfather, William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, was Governor-General of Australia 1908-11. Ward's younger sister, Tracy Louise Ward, former Duchess of Beaufort, is a former actress and an environmental campaigner. Ward grew up in Cornwell Manor, in Cornwell, Oxfordshire, which her parents bought in 1959, and remains in the hands of the Ward family as of January 2026.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Rachel Ward timeline

  1. She gained prominence as an actress for her performance in the American television miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983), which earned her one of three Golden Globe Award nominations.
  2. Also in 2001, Ward won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Short Fiction Film for The Big House, and Best Australian Film at Flickerfest.
  3. The film also won the Film Critics Circle of Australia award, as did her 2003 film Martha's New Coat.
  4. That film also won the 2003 ATOM Award.
  5. In 2009, she directed her first feature-length film titled Beautiful Kate, which she adapted from a 1982 Newton Thornburg novel.

The world when Rachel Ward was born

Rachel Ward was born in 1957. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1957

  • #1 song"All Shook Up" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieThe Bridge on the River Kwai
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookOn the Road – Jack Kerouac

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMilwaukee Braves win the World Series
  • Top headlineSoviet Union launches Sputnik — Space Race begins
  • Technology milestoneSputnik 1 becomes first artificial satellite in orbit
  • Defining fadHula hoops (early buzz)
  • Notable inventionFrisbee
  • World population2.87 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championMilwaukee Braves (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population171.2M

1957 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Rachel Ward's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19572026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,200$435,000
Average income$6,700$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.51$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population171.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.