Rachel
Griffiths, born in Melbourne, Australia, is a film and television
actress. Although her name is Welsh, she is actually of Irish Catholic
extraction, and has an uncle on her mother's side who is a Jesuit
priest, and who officiated at her wedding.
Griffiths
was a relative newcomer when cast in the film Muriel's Wedding
(1994) as the loyal friend Rhonda, and the success of this film
furthered the careers of both Griffiths and her costar Toni Collette.
She
received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress
for her role in Hilary and Jackie (1998). Although a sought after
actress in Hollywood productions, she returns to Australia frequently
and continues to act in Australian films.
Her
American roles have required her to master an American accent,
and in the 2001 film Very Annie Mary, Griffiths adopted a Welsh
accent to star with a predominantly Welsh cast as a young woman
from the valleys of South Wales.
Her
continuing role as Brenda Chenowith in the HBO series Six Feet
Under earned her Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards,
as well as two Emmy Award nominations.
Griffiths
married Australian artist, Andrew Taylor, on 31 December 2002,
in Melbourne and the couple have two children. Their son, Banjo
Patrick Taylor, was born on November 22, 2003, in Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia, and their daughter, Adelaide Rose Taylor, was born
on June 23, 2005, in Los Angeles, California, thus giving the
younger child dual US/Australian citizenship. |
