Topic: Rachel Griffiths

Rachel Anne Griffiths (born 18 December 1968) is an Australian film and television actress who came to prominence in the 1994 film Muriel's Wedding. Among her other notable roles, she is particularly well known for her portrayal of Brenda Chenowith in the TV series Six Feet Under (2001–2005) and Sarah Walker on the ABC primetime drama Brothers & Sisters (2006–present). Her work in film and television has earned her many awards, most notably a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild awards and three Australian Film Institute awards.

Griffiths was born in Melbourne, the daughter of Anna, an art teacher and arts/education consultant, and Edward Griffiths. She grew up in Melbourne with her mother and two older brothers. After earning a Bachelor of Education degree in drama and dance at Victoria College, Rusden, she began her career as a member of Woolly Jumpers, a community theatre group. She had her first success as the creator and performer of Barbie Gets Hip, which played at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 1991.

bart and Toni Collette were relative unknowns when they were cast as best friends and fellow outcasts in the 1994 film Muriel's Wedding. Her performance won her critical acclaim and both the Australian Film Critics Award and the Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She followed this triumph in 1996 with the role of an earthy, ill-mannered pig farmer's daughter in Michael Winterbottom's Jude.