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Who is Rachel Ward?
American actress Evan Rachel Ward was born in Raleigh, North Carolina USA, on 7 September 1987, making her zodiac sign Virgo. She has 66 acting credits, but is perhaps still known best for starring as Tracy Freeland in the 2003 drama movie “Thirteen”, which also starred Holly Hunter and Nikki Reed, and was written and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. It follows a 13-year-old girl as she’s been dragged into the world of drugs, sex and petty crime; the movie won 14 of its 53 award nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Holly Hunter).
Rachel’s currently shooting for five movies, including “One Thousand Paper Cranes”, “All That I Am” and “Adulthood”.
Education and early life
Rachel was raised in Raleigh alongside her sister Aden and brothers Thomas, Dana and Ira David Wood IV, by their father Ira David Wood III who’s a famous Canadian actor, author and singer, and mother Sara Lynn Moore who’s an actress, casting coach and film director; Rachel’s brother Ira David Wood IV is also a successful actor, and their aunt Carol Winstead Wood was a production designer.
Having been raised in a family of actors, Rachel fell in love with the film industry at a very early age, and was six when she made her debut film appearance, portraying Little Susie in the 1994 crime drama “In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness”; the same year saw her portray Young Sarah in the mystery thriller movie “Search for Grace”.
Rachel appeared in many plays performed at Theatre in the Park while growing up, including in a production of “Ghost of Christmas Park” and “The Miracle Worker”. She studied at Cary Elementary School, then and upon her parents’ divorce in 1997 moved to Los Angeles, California thus transferring schools.
She was 12 when she switched to being homeschooled so that she could focus on her acting career, and Rachel was 15 when she took and passed her GED tests.
Roles in movies
The year 1995 saw Rachel play Tessa in the western drama “A Father for Charlie”, and her following role was in the crime thriller “Death in Small Doses”(1995), the 1997 drama “Digging to China” and the 1997 biographical musical “Get to the Heart: The Barbara Mandrell Story”.
What marked the ‘90s for her was playing Kylie in the critically acclaimed fantasy comedy “Practical Magic”, which starred Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, and was directed by Griffin Dunne. It follows two witch sisters as they’re being raised in a small town by their eccentric aunts; the movie won one of its seven award nominations.
A couple of Rachel’s following notable performances were in the 2001 family comedy “Little Secrets”, the 2002 science fiction comedy “S1m0ne”, and the 2003 adventure thriller “The Missing”. In 2005, she portrayed Lavender ‘Popeye’ Wolfmeyer in the comedy “The Upside of Anger”, which starred Kevin Costner and Joan Allen, and was written and directed by Mike Binder. It follows a woman whose husband’s disappeared, and the movie won five of its 18 award nominations. The remainder of the decade saw Rachel appear in the 2006 comedy “Running with Scissors”, the short drama “Vanity Fair: Killers Kill, Dead Men Die”, and the 2009 romantic comedy “Whatever Works”.
The year 2014 saw her play the lead character Daisy Kensington in the romantic comedy “Barefoot”, which also starred Scott Speedman and J. K. Simmons, and was directed by Andrew Fleming. It follows the ‘black sheep’ in his wealthy family as he’s fallen for a young psychiatric patient, and the movie was nominated for only a single award.
Some of Rachel’s most recent film roles have been in the 2020 romantic musical drama “Viena and the Fantomes”, the 2021 short musical “11:11” and the 2022 musical crime comedy “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story”.
Roles in TV series
Rachel’s debut TV series role was playing Rose Russell in three episodes of the 1996 horror thriller “American Gothic”, then in 1998 and 1999, she portrayed Chloe Waters in six episodes of the crime mystery “Profiler”, which starred Julian McMahon and Ally Walker, and was created by Cynthia Saunders. It follows the work of Violent Crimes Task Force detective Dr. Sam Waters, the series aired from 1996 through 2000, and won one of its 20 award nominations.
From 1999 through 2002, Rachel starred as Jessie Sammler in 56 episodes of the romantic family drama “Once and Again”, which also starred Billy Campbell and Sela Ward, and was created by Marshall Herskovitz. It follows two divorced people who’ve begun dating, but their children are making it complicated; the series won 12 of its 61 award nominations.
Rachel appeared in only two other TV series in the remainder of the decade, portraying Hogan Cregg in the 2002 episode “The Black Vera Wang” of the drama “The West Wing”, and Nora Easton in the 2003 episode “Got Murder?” of the crime mystery “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”.
In 2015, she played Evan in five episodes of the comedy “Doll & Em”, which starred Emily Mortimer and Dolly Walls, who also together created the series; it follows British actress Emily Mortimer who’s headed to Hollywood, together with her friend Dolly Wells as her assistant.
Most recently, from 2016 through 2022, Rachel starred as Christina in all 35 episodes of the critically acclaimed mystery science fiction “Westworld”, which also starred Jeffrey Wright and Ed Harris, and was created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. It follows a world in which ‘every human appetite can be indulged without consequence’ – the series won 55 of its 263 award nominations; the website IMDb has ranked it #224 best TV series of all time.
Rachel Ward in a publicity photo for Sharky’s Machine (1981), a film by Burt Reynolds. pic.twitter.com/07q6va4Nn3
— Chris O'Neill (@chrisoneill99) June 27, 2020
Other credits
Rachel directed the 2018 music video “Today”, and she’s the writer and director of the upcoming short movie “Queen”.
Some of her recent talk-show appearances have been in “Live with Kelly and Mark”, “Made in Hollywood” and “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen”.
Awards and nominations
Rachel’s won 16 of her 63 award nominations. Some of her wins include a 2003 Bratislava International Film Festival Award, for her performance in “Thirteen”, a 2004 Prism Award for Performance in a Theatrical Feature Film, also for “Thirteen”, and a 2016 IGN Summer Movie Award for Best TV Actress, for “Westworld”.
Rachel was nominated for 2017 and 2018 Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, both for her performance in “Westworld”.
Love life and relationships
Her ‘private’ life is certainly interesting – here are a couple of men whom Rachel’s been with, that we know about. In 2005 and 2006, she dated famous British actor and dancer Andrew James Matfin ‘Jamie’ Bell.
Rachel attempted suicide aged 22 when she struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as she was in an abusive relationship for multiple years, and was raped several times.
She was 18 when she began dating American musician Marilyn Manson in the second half of 2006, who was 37 at that time; Rachel revealed in 2016 that she was raped by Marilyn on two occasions, but the two became engaged in January 2010, although broke up by the end of the year.
Rachel revealed in 2011 that she’s bisexual, and the same year saw her start dating Jamie Bell again; they exchanged vows in October 2012 and their son Jack Matfin Bell was born on 29 July 2013. Rachel and Jamie separated in 2014, and their divorce was finalized in the same year.
In 2015, Rachel began dating American actor and musician Zach Villa, they became engaged in January 2017, but separated in September of the same year.
There are no other men whom Rachel’s perhaps been with, that we know about; she seems to be unattached as of August 2023, was once married to Jamie Bell and has a son with him.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Rachel was passionate about martial arts while growing up and earned her black belt in Taekwondo aged 12; she then also competed in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympic Games.
She’s revealed that she dislikes her middle name, but has kept it so that her gender isn’t confused.
Her favorite actor is the late Jerome Silberman, remembered better as Gene Wilder, and some of her favorite movies include “The Woman in Red”, “Blazing Saddles” and “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”. Her favorite actress is Cate Blanchett.
Rachel’s favorite musician’s the late David Bowie, and she sang some of his songs with his band members at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles in February 2018.
She spends most of her spare time horseback riding, rollerblading and swimming.
Appearance and net worth
Rachel’s age is 35. She has blue eyes and blonde hair, weighs around 130lbs (60kgs) and is 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall.
Rachel’s net worth’s been estimated at over $8 million, as of August 2023.
