Rachel Ward isn’t losing any sleep over online critiques about how she looks.
The 68-year-old The Thorn Birds actress went viral over the holidays after some commenters took aim at her appearance while she was promoting her life on a beef cattle farm in Australia. Ward runs the farm with her husband, Bryan Brown, 78 — the actor she met while working on the 1983 miniseries.
As her posts gained traction, a wave of trolls claimed she looked older than her age and questioned why she hadn’t tried to look more “youthful.” But Ward isn’t interested in playing that game.
In a message shared on Instagram on Jan. 15, she addressed the noise — and thanked the many supporters who pushed back on the harsh comments.
“Dear those of you who responded to the brouhaha over the trolls criticizing my appearance… do not fear aging,” she said, adding that she’d made a lighthearted effort to “do a little better today,” joking that she ran her hands through her hair.
Ward then delivered a clear, heartfelt message: getting older hasn’t diminished her life — it has deepened it.
“It’s a wonderful period of life, in your 60s,” she said. “I am more fulfilled than ever and I have no regrets, leaving my youth and beauty behind.”
She continued, “I’m not youthful, but I am a very happy camper. Later years are to be exalted and welcomed… They have so many other gifts to bestow that you have no idea what they are until you get there.”
Ward also said she was “overwhelmed” by how many people came to her defense, encouraging others not to cling so tightly to youth.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said, acknowledging that many people fear losing youth and sometimes turn to drastic measures to hold onto it. “But let it go… Let it go and much bounty will come.”
She closed by thanking supporters for the response she received, calling it deeply moving and heartfelt.
