Former Model Rachel Ward, 68, Doubles Down on Aging Naturally After Trolls Attack Her Appearance and Her Response Is Powerful

May 26, 2026 by apost team

Rachel Ward spent the better part of two decades as one of the most photographed women in the world. She appeared on the cover of Vogue, modeled internationally, and rose to global fame playing Meghan "Meggie" Cleary opposite Richard Chamberlain in the 1983 ABC miniseries "The Thorn Birds" — a production that drew one of the largest television audiences in history. She went on to star in films including "Against All Odds," "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid," and "How to Make an American Quilt," and was married to her "Thorn Birds" co-star Bryan Brown in April 1983. The couple have three children — Rosie, Matilda, and Joe — and have now been together for more than 40 years.

These days, Ward, born Sept. 12, 1957, lives a very different life. She and Brown run a 350-head beef cattle farm in the Nambucca Valley of New South Wales, Australia — a place she has described as grounding, joyful, and entirely her own. She posts on Instagram regularly, usually without makeup, usually surrounded by animals or farmland, and usually with no apparent concern for how she looks.

That last detail caught the internet off guard. During the holiday season in late 2025, she shared a video promoting her farm venture FarmThru — and the comments that followed had nothing to do with the farm. Trolls descended on her appearance, questioning why a 68-year-old woman with gray hair and natural skin looked like a 68-year-old woman. The backlash to the trolls was immediate and overwhelming. Kyle Richards and Sharon Stone were among those who pushed back publicly. Ward's daughter reposted the comments with the caption: "Warning!! Naturally aging woman. Proceed with caution."

Then Ward responded herself — and the words she chose became the story.

In a video posted on Instagram, Ward addressed the trolls with the tone of someone who had genuinely moved on from caring what they thought. "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," she said.

She was not finished. "It's a wonderful period of life, in your 60s. I am more fulfilled than ever and I have no regrets, leaving my youth and beauty behind. I'm not youthful, but I am a very happy camper." Then, speaking directly to the women who had rallied to her defense, she reframed the whole conversation.

"I don't think I'm part of this equation, particularly. Somehow, I was the linchpin for it, but I feel it goes way beyond standing up for me with the trolls — because that was so minimal. I think it's people just expressing their own defence of ageing naturally. Just people saying 'leave us alone to grow old without having to pretend that we're fricking 40.'"

In a follow-up interview with ABC News, appearing makeup-free, Ward doubled down. "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 said.

"Don't worry about me. I do recognize that we're all a little bit worried about losing our youth and resorting to rather drastic ways of holding on to it, but let it go."

She has been asked since whether the criticism touched her. Her answer was brief and definitive. "It doesn't touch me," she said.

Watch the full video here: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DTjXIULE9pD/

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Do you think Rachel Ward's response to the trolls is something more women in Hollywood should say out loud? Let us know in the comments and pass this on to your family, friends, and anyone who needs to hear this message today!