“The more wretched I look, the more followers I have,” Rachel Ward reflected.

*Thorn Birds *star says ‘going gray’ gave her more attention than going nude would: ‘I’m so past caring’

"The more wretched I look, the more followers I have," Rachel Ward reflected.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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May 26, 2026 2:49 p.m. ET

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Rachel Ward in Gold Coast, Australia, on Feb. 6, 2026. Credit:

Don Arnold/Getty

- Rachel Ward was "a catalyst for a conversation" about aging after her gray hair went viral.

- The *Thorn Birds* actress said, "How ironic that my going gray actually garnered me more attention than if I'd taken my top off."

- Ward also remembered that "everything was about sexuality" during her Hollywood career.

Rachel Ward is reflecting on going gray.

The English actress, best known for starring as Meggie Cleary in the 1983 miniseries *The Thorn Birds*, discussed moving to a farm and going viral for aging naturally during a new interview with Australia's ABC News.

"I think I was a catalyst for a conversation that I think people had been challenged by," Ward told the outlet in a video interview. "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?"

Rachel Ward/Instgram

Ward received widespread attention and support online after a few posts on her Instagram page went viral when a handful of users made rude remarks about her gray hair and lack of makeup.

"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 reflected. In another part of the video, she said, "The more wretched I look, the more followers I have."

Ward also told the outlet, "How ironic that my going gray actually garnered me more attention than if I'd taken my top off."

Rachel Ward in New York City in July 1983.

Oscar Abolafia/TPLP/Getty

The actress, who starred in films like *Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid* and *How to Get Ahead in Advertising*, shared how her Hollywood career was somewhat unfulfilling. "I went to Hollywood about '82," she remembered. "Everything was about sexuality. It was all about the sex scenes. It was all about 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."

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The actress finds far more fulfillment working on her regenerative farm in Australia than she did in the spotlight. "You soon find it's a very vacuous place to inhabit … it's very empty and it's very unsatisfying," she said of the film industry. "I was just make-up, I was fantasy."

Ward doesn't understand the expectations that have been placed on older women.

"That whole harping … that we still have to be sexual beings is terrifying," she opined. "To have to have our bums lifted and our breasts lifted and our faces drawn back. It just becomes grotesque."

Rachel Ward in 'The Thorn Birds'.

Courtesy Everett

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Ward continued, "I'm so past caring about what people think about one's appearance or age. I love this part of life. I'm more content now than I've ever been."

The actress wants everyone to focus on her farming now. "All I want to hear is, 'Actually, Rachel's cows are looking pretty good,'" she said.

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