Rachel Ward, best known for her role in the 1983 drama miniseries The Thorn Birds, is brushing off online criticism of her appearance.
The former British-Australian actor, 68 — whose last major film role was in 2016’s The Death and Life of Otto Bloom — has since traded Hollywood for a quiet life in New South Wales, Australia, where she runs a regenerative beef cattle farm with her husband, actor Bryan Brown.
Last December, a Ward posted an Instagram video thanking “all those who sent lovely messages this year” while talking about her neighbors and her work on the farm. Unfortunately, internet trolls left hurtful messages in the comment section about how she had “aged really badly.”
Addressing the backlash in a new interview with Australian Story, Ward said: “A few trolls were a bit shocked about my grey hair, who maybe hadn’t seen me since I was 24, and then went, ‘Oh my God, that’s what you end up looking like.’
“I’m so past caring about what people think about one’s appearance or age,” she insisted.
She fired back at the societal pressure around women — especially those in the public eye — to maintain a youthful appearance, saying: “That whole harping … that we still have to be sexual beings is terrifying. To have to have our bums lifted and our breasts lifted and our faces drawn back. It just becomes grotesque.
“All I can say is that it’s great to put that behind you, how you should look and be.”
Ward previously responded to the negative online chatter in January, imploring others to “not fear aging.”
“It’s a wonderful period of life,” she said on Instagram, adding that she’s “more fulfilled than ever” and has “no regrets leaving my youth and beauty behind.”
“I’m not youthful, but I am a very happy camper,” she continued. “Later years are to be exalted and welcomed. You wait until you get there. They have so many other gifts to bestow that you have no idea what they are until you get there.”
In the caption of the video, she joked: “I’m a farmer now but really should do my hair and apply some lippy before I go on social media. Apologies for frightening a few of you.”
Ward got her break as Meghan “Meggie” Cleary in The Thorn Birds opposite the late Richard Chamberlain. She also appeared in a string of Eighties horrors and thrillers, including Campsite Masacre (1983), Against All Odds (1984) and Fortress (1985). Her 2009 directorial debut, Beautiful Kate, earned her AACTA Award nominations for Best Direction and Best Screenplay.
Her farming journey became the basis for the 2023 documentary Rachel’s Farm, which Ward directed and co-wrote.
