Rachel Ward recently went viral for a video filmed in a paddock on her farm. The internet had a lot to say about how she looked.

At 66, the former Thorn Birds star suddenly found herself at the centre of a global conversation about ageing, beauty, and what people expect women who were once famous for their looks to look like decades later.

In this episode of No Filter, Rachel talks to Kate Langbroek about the viral moment and why she believes the reaction had very little to do with her and everything to do with society’s discomfort with women ageing in public.

Rachel reflects on her extraordinary life, from British aristocracy to international fame, from Hollywood film sets to regenerative farming on the mid north coast of New South Wales.

She also speaks candidly about mental health, the “crumbles” that forced her to reassess everything, and the instinct she has learned to trust when it is time to leave one chapter of her life behind and begin another.

CREDITS:

Guest: Rachel Ward

Host: Kate Langbroek

Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Executive Producer: Bree Player

Assistant Producer: Coco Lavigne

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Video Producer: Josh Green

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.