Former Actress and Model Rachel Ward, 68, Doubles Down on Aging Naturally amid Criticism from 'Trolls'
Former Actress and Model Rachel Ward, 68, Doubles Down on Aging Naturally amid Criticism from 'Trolls'
Michelle LeeMon, May 25, 2026 at 7:20 PM UTC
0
(Left) Rachel Ward in 'The Thorn Birds' in 1983; (Right) Rachel Ward in 2026
Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty; rachelwardofficial/Instagram
-
The Thorn Birds alum Rachel Ward opened up to ABC News about her decision to stand up to critics who had something to write about her appearance
Ward has embraced aging naturally and told the outlet about standing up for women who felt like they couldn't have wrinkles or gray hair
She also revealed how looking "wretched" has impacted her followers on social media
Rachel Ward is the happiest she's ever been and that's all down to the beauty of aging naturally.
The former actress and model, now 68, appeared makeup-free for an interview with ABC News about the criticism she's received for her appearance and why she chooses to embrace her maturing features in a world that tells her to do the opposite.
"I was a catalyst for a conversation that I think people had been challenged by," she said in a clip shared to Instagram. "Women weren't allowed to have a wrinkle, weren't allowed to go gray. Why do we feel we've got to pretend that we're still 40 when we're 68?"
"The more wretched I looked, the more followers I have," she admitted while adding, "How ironic that my going gray actually garnered me more attention than if I'd taken my top off."
Rachel Ward at the 1982 Golden Globes
Credit: Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Although online fame has come with negative comments. When Ward — who traded set life for farm life — made a video about her venture FarmThru, she received a flood of comments about her look.
In a separate Instagram video, she embraced her image by saying, "Dear those of you who responded to the brouhaha over the trolls criticizing my appearance, I have tried to do a little better today. I ran my hands through my hair, etc., but anyways, just to say, do not fear aging."
Advertisement
She gained support from Kyle Richards and Sharon Stone.
"A few trolls were a bit shocked about my gray 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,'" she told ABC News in reaction to the responses.
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Ward, who starred in the British miniseries The Thorn Birds, reflected on coming up in the early '80s when "everything was about sexuality and the male gaze."
"It's very empty, and it's very unsatisfying. It took me a long time to feel that I had value as a woman," she said in the clip, while in the full interview she added that it's "terrifying" to be "sexual beings" and to "have to have our bums lifted and our breasts lifted and our faces drawn back. It just becomes grotesque."
Today, she's content and particularly in love with this stage of her life. "I'm so past caring about what people think about one's appearance or age," she said. "All I want to hear is, 'Actually, Rachel's cows are looking pretty good.'"
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
