Rachel Griffiths: The Life Story Behind the Six Feet Under Star

Rachel Griffiths is an Australian actress who has played some of the most memorable women on screen: a loyal best friend in a small Australian town, a complicated and brilliant woman in a funeral home in Los Angeles, a sister trying to hold her family together, and a mother in a war film. She has won a Golden Globe, she has been nominated for Emmys and Oscars, and she has done it all with a warmth, an intelligence and a humour that make her one of the most loved actors in Australia. She is also a director now, telling Australian stories from behind the camera, and proving that her talent goes far beyond acting.

What makes her story special is the way she has always chosen interesting roles. She has never played the simple, easy heroine. She has played women who are difficult, funny, sad, and real: women who make mistakes, who love deeply, and who try to do their best in a world that does not always make it easy. She brings an honesty to those roles that makes audiences care about them, even when they disagree with what the characters do. That is the mark of a great actress, and it is why she has lasted so long.

Her life is a story about a girl from Melbourne who loved theatre, who worked hard to become an actress, and who became one of the most respected performers in the world. It is a story about family, about work, and about the courage to try new things, even late in a career. It is also a story about Australia, about the films and the television that made her, and about the woman who never forgot where she came from.

A Melbourne Girl Who Loved the Theatre

Rachel Griffiths was born on 18 December 1968 in Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is a city that loves the arts, with theatres, festivals and a strong tradition of storytelling, and growing up there in the 1970s gave Griffiths many chances to see acting up close. She was drawn to the theatre from a young age, and she loved the feeling of being on stage, of telling a story, and of making an audience laugh or cry. Acting was not a passing interest for her. It was the thing she wanted to do with her life.

She studied acting at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, one of Australia’s best drama schools. It was hard work, and it asked a young actor to study plays, to practise voice and movement, and to learn how to work with other actors. Griffiths took that training seriously, and it gave her the skills she would need for the rest of her career. She learned that acting was not only about talent. It was about discipline, about listening, and about being honest in front of an audience. Those lessons stayed with her.

After drama school, she worked in theatre in Melbourne, appearing in many productions and building a reputation as a talented and versatile actress. Theatre is a hard school, and it teaches an actor things that film cannot: how to hold a stage, how to project your voice, and how to keep going when something goes wrong. Griffiths learned those lessons well, and she became known as an actress who could play almost anything, from comedy to drama, from a young girl to an older woman. She was funny, she was smart, and she was not afraid to take risks.

She also began to work in film and television, taking small roles and learning how a set worked. It was a slow start, but it was a solid one. She was building a career, one role at a time, and she was learning from every job. She did not become famous overnight. She worked, she learned, and she waited for the right role. That patience, that willingness to do the work, would pay off in a big way, when a small Australian film about a wedding changed her life.

Muriel’s Wedding and Rhonda, the Best Friend

In 1994, Griffiths appeared in Muriel’s Wedding, the film directed by P. J. Hogan, about a young woman named Muriel, played by Toni Collette, who dreams of a better life, who moves to Sydney, and who tries to find happiness. Griffiths played Rhonda Epinstalk, Muriel’s best friend, a lively, funny and loyal young woman who encourages Muriel to be brave, to leave her small town, and to chase her dreams. It was a wonderful role, and Griffiths played it brilliantly.

Rhonda was a character who was full of life. She was funny, she was bold, and she loved her friend deeply. But she was also a character who faced hardship: she becomes ill, and her life changes in ways she did not expect. Griffiths played both sides of Rhonda, the joy and the pain, with an honesty that made the audience love her. She was not a supporting character in the usual sense. She was the heart of the film, the friend who made Muriel’s journey possible, and the person who showed what true friendship looks like.

Muriel’s Wedding was a huge success in Australia and around the world. It was funny, sad and moving, and it became one of the most loved Australian films of all time. Griffiths won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, and she became famous. For a young actress who had worked in theatre for years, it was a remarkable moment. She had gone from the stage in Melbourne to a film seen around the world, and she had done it by playing a best friend, a role that many actors would have overlooked. She saw the importance of Rhonda, and she made her unforgettable.

The film was also important because it told an Australian story, about Australian women, in an Australian voice. It was funny and honest, and it showed the world that Australian film could tell stories about ordinary people, and tell them with heart. Griffiths was proud to be part of it, and it set the tone for her career: she would always choose roles that mattered, roles that told a real story, and roles that showed women as they really are.

Hollywood, Hilary and Clinton, and the American Years

After Muriel’s Wedding, Griffiths began to work in America, taking on roles in films and television. She appeared in Blow in 2001, playing the mother of the drug dealer George Jung, and in The Rookie in 2002, a baseball film starring Dennis Quaid. These were supporting roles, but they showed that she could work in Hollywood, and that she could hold her own alongside famous actors. She was not a star yet in America, but she was building a reputation as a talented and reliable actress.

In 2001, she was cast in Six Feet Under, the television series created by Alan Ball, about a family who runs a funeral home in Los Angeles. Griffiths played Brenda Chenowith, a complex and brilliant woman, a therapist who is funny, troubled, and deeply human. Brenda was a difficult character: she was intelligent, she was passionate, and she made many mistakes. Griffiths played her with an honesty and a depth that made the audience care about her, even when she did things they disagreed with. It was a remarkable performance, and it became one of the most praised on television.

Six Feet Under ran from 2001 to 2005, and it won many awards. Griffiths won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work, and she was nominated for Emmy Awards. The show was watched by millions of people, and it made Griffiths famous in America. She was no longer a supporting actress from Australia. She was a star, and she had proved that she could carry a major television series, playing a character who was at the centre of the story. It was a turning point in her career, and it opened many doors.

In 2016, she took on another challenging role: Hillary Clinton in the television film Hilary and Clinton, about the early years of Hillary and Bill Clinton’s relationship. Playing a real person, especially one as famous as Hillary Clinton, is a difficult job. Griffiths did it with intelligence and with care, and she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance. It was another sign of her range, and of her willingness to take on hard roles. She was not afraid to play a famous woman, and she did it well.

Brothers and Sisters and a Family on Screen

In 2006, Griffiths joined the cast of Brothers and Sisters, the American television drama about the Walker family in California. She played Sarah Walker, the eldest daughter, a businesswoman and a mother, a woman trying to hold her family together while also building her own life. The show ran for five seasons, from 2006 to 2011, and it was watched by millions of people. Griffiths was at the centre of it, playing a character who was strong, funny, and deeply human.

Sarah Walker was a different kind of role from Brenda Chenowith. Brenda was wild, complicated and unpredictable. Sarah was steady, responsible, and trying to do the right thing. Griffiths played her with a warmth and a humour that made the audience love her. She showed that she could play a normal woman, a mother and a sister, and make her interesting. That is a hard thing to do. It is easy to play a dramatic character. It is much harder to play an ordinary person, and to make the audience care about her everyday life. Griffiths did it, and she did it beautifully.

Brothers and Sisters was a family show, and it was about the things that matter to families: love, loyalty, money, and loss. Griffiths understood that, because she is herself a mother and a wife, and she brought her own experience to the role. She played Sarah as a woman who loved her family, who fought for them, and who sometimes made mistakes. That honesty made the character feel real, and it made the show work. Audiences watched week after week, not only for the drama, but for the family, and for Sarah, who was its heart.

The show also gave Griffiths a steady job for five years, a rare and valuable thing in Hollywood. She could settle into a character, live with her for years, and build a performance over time. She also became a mother during these years, and the stability of a long television job suited her life. She was no longer a young actress chasing every role. She was a working actress with a family, building a career that could last. And she was doing it well.

Hacksaw Ridge, Total Control, and Coming Home

In 2016, Griffiths appeared in Hacksaw Ridge, the war film directed by Mel Gibson, about Desmond Doss, a soldier who refused to carry a weapon and who saved many lives during the Battle of Okinawa. Griffiths played Bertha Doss, the mother of Desmond, a woman who is strong, loving, and deeply religious. It was a supporting role, but it was an important one, and Griffiths played it with a quiet dignity that made the character feel real. The film was a critical and commercial success, and it won Academy Awards. Griffiths was proud to be part of it, and it showed that she could still command the screen, even in a small role.

In recent years, Griffiths has returned to Australian television, starring in Total Control, a political drama about a woman who becomes a senator and who fights for change. She played Rachel Anderson, a political adviser, a sharp and intelligent woman who understands how power works. The series was praised by critics, and it showed Griffiths in a new light: as a woman of power, a woman who could play politics as well as she could play family drama. It was a fitting role for an actress who has always been interested in strong women, and in stories that matter.

She has also continued to work in film, taking on roles that interest her, and working with directors she respects. She is not an actress who chases fame. She is an actress who chooses her work carefully, who looks for good stories, and who brings her full talent to every role. That approach has kept her working for thirty years, and it has kept her reputation strong. She is respected by directors, by critics, and by other actors, and she is loved by audiences who have watched her for decades.

Her return to Australia is also a sign of her loyalty to home. She could have stayed in America and worked there permanently. Instead, she has come home, again and again, to work in Australian film and television, to tell Australian stories, and to support the industry that gave her her start. That loyalty is one of the most admirable things about her, and it is one of the reasons Australians love her. She is an Australian actress, and she is proud of it.

Ride Like a Girl and a New Life as a Director

In 2019, Griffiths took on a new challenge: she directed her first feature film, Ride Like a Girl, the true story of Michelle Payne, the jockey who became the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s most famous horse race. The film starred Teresa Palmer as Michelle Payne, and it told the story of a young woman from a large family, who dreamed of winning the Cup, who faced injury and doubt, and who achieved her dream against all the odds. It was a story that Griffiths loved, and she directed it with a warmth, a humour, and an honesty that made it a success.

Directing was a new skill for Griffiths, and she took it seriously. She worked with the actors, she worked with the horses, and she made a film that was both exciting and moving. The film was a commercial success in Australia, and it was praised by critics. It showed that Griffiths was not only a great actress. She was a storyteller, and she had a talent for directing. It was a brave move, to try something new in her fifties, and it paid off. She proved that she could do more than act, and that she had a vision of her own.

The film was also important because it told a woman’s story, about a woman who broke a barrier in a male-dominated sport. Griffiths has always been interested in women’s stories, in strong women who refuse to accept the limits placed on them. Michelle Payne was such a woman, and Griffiths told her story with respect and with love. It was a fitting project for a director who had spent her career playing strong women, and who now wanted to tell their stories from behind the camera.

Since Ride Like a Girl, Griffiths has continued to direct, and she has shown an interest in telling more Australian stories. She is a director now, as well as an actress, and she brings to directing the same qualities she brought to acting: intelligence, warmth, and a deep understanding of people. It is a new chapter in her career, and it is an exciting one. She is not slowing down. She is growing, learning, and trying new things, and that is a sign of a person who loves her work.

Family, Marriage, and a Life Built on Love

Griffiths has been married to the artist Andrew Taylor since 2002, and the two of them have three children together. Their marriage has lasted for more than twenty years, and it is a partnership based on mutual respect and a shared love of art. Taylor is a painter, and Griffiths is an actress and a director, and together they have built a life that is grounded in creativity, in family, and in a love of Australia. They live in Melbourne, and they raise their children there, in the city where Griffiths grew up.

Family is important to Griffiths, and she has spoken about the challenge of balancing work and family life. Acting often means long days, travel, and time away from home, and that is hard for a mother. Griffiths has managed it by choosing her work carefully, by working in Australia when she can, and by keeping her family at the centre of her life. She has not let fame interfere with her family, and she has not let work take her away from the people she loves. That balance is a achievement in itself, and it is one that many working parents will understand.

She is also known for her warmth, her humour, and her generosity. She is a person who supports other actors, who mentors young performers, and who uses her fame to help good causes. She is not a distant or cold star. She is a warm and funny woman, who loves her work, who loves her family, and who loves life. That joy shows in her acting, and it shows in her directing. She brings a lightness to her work, even when the story is serious, and that lightness makes her performances a pleasure to watch.

Looking at her life as a whole, the pattern is clear. She started in Melbourne, she worked hard, she became famous, and she stayed true to herself. She played strong women, she directed a film about a strong woman, and she built a family and a life that she loves. It is a full and happy life, and it is a career that is still growing. Rachel Griffiths is not finished. She is still acting, still directing, and still telling stories. And the world is better for it.

Griffiths has also worked in Australian theatre throughout her career, returning to the stage between film and television roles. Theatre is where she learned her craft, and it is where she continues to find joy in acting. She has appeared in plays in Melbourne and Sydney, and she has shown that her talent is not only for the screen. The stage asks an actor to perform live, every night, in front of a real audience, and Griffiths has done that with the same warmth and honesty that she brings to film. Her theatre work is an important part of her story.

She has also been involved in supporting new Australian filmmakers, using her experience and her reputation to help young directors and writers get their stories made. She understands that an industry needs more than stars. It needs people who are willing to help, to mentor, and to pass on what they know. Griffiths has done that quietly, without making a show of it, and many young Australian filmmakers have benefited from her support. That generosity is part of who she is, and it is one of the reasons she is so respected.

My Take:

When I think about Rachel Griffiths, the first thing that comes to my mind is warmth. She is a warm actress. She plays women who feel real, who love deeply, who make mistakes, and who try to do their best. That warmth is her gift, and it is why audiences love her. When she plays Rhonda in Muriel’s Wedding, you feel her friendship. When she plays Brenda in Six Feet Under, you feel her pain. When she plays Sarah in Brothers and Sisters, you feel her love for her family. That is a rare talent: the ability to make an audience feel what a character feels. Griffiths has it, and she uses it beautifully.

Griffiths showed both faces of Rhonda, her delight and her suffering, with a truthfulness that won the audience’s hearts. I think that is the mark of a great actress: the ability to play a character who is both funny and sad, and to make both sides feel true. Griffiths did that, and she won an award for it. She deserved it.

Six Feet Under is a show I think about often, because it is one of the finest television series ever made, and because Griffiths’s performance as Brenda is one of its highlights. Brenda is a difficult character: intelligent, passionate, troubled, and funny. She makes many mistakes, and she hurts the people she loves. But Griffiths played her with such honesty that the audience cared about her anyway. I think that is because Griffiths understood Brenda. She understood that Brenda was not a bad person. She was a person who was trying to be good, and who kept failing. That is a human story, and Griffiths told it beautifully. She won a Golden Globe for it, and she deserved it.

What I admire about her work in Brothers and Sisters is the opposite quality: steadiness. Sarah Walker was not a wild or dramatic character. She was a responsible woman, a businesswoman and a mother, trying to hold her family together. Griffiths played her with a warmth and a humour that made the audience love her. It is easy to play a dramatic character. It is much harder to play an ordinary person, and to make that person interesting. Griffiths did it, for five seasons, and she did it well. I think that shows her range. She can play a wild woman and a steady woman, and make both of them feel real.

Hacksaw Ridge is a film I respect, and I think Griffiths’s small role as Bertha Doss is a good example of her talent. She played a mother, a woman who is strong and loving, and she did it with a quiet dignity. She did not try to steal the film. She supported it, and she made the family at its centre feel real. That is a sign of a generous actress, a person who understands that a film is a team effort. I respect that. Many actors try to be the star in every scene. Griffiths understands that sometimes the best thing you can do is to support the story, and to let the story work.

Ride Like a Girl is the part of her story that I admire most, because it was a risk. She had never directed a feature film before, and she chose a story about a woman jockey winning the Melbourne Cup. It was a big job, with horses, with a large cast, and with a true story that many Australians knew well. She directed it beautifully, and the film was a success. I think that takes courage. It is easy to stay where you are safe, to keep acting, and to never try anything new. It is hard to try something new, especially when you might fail. Griffiths tried, and she succeeded, and I think that is the bravest thing she has done in her career.

There is something I find deeply moving about her story, and it is the way she has balanced work and family. She is a mother of three children, a wife, and a working actress and director. That is a lot to balance, and she has done it well. She has chosen her work carefully, she has worked in Australia when she can, and she has kept her family at the centre of her life. I think that is a sign of a person who knows what matters. Fame is not the most important thing. Family is. Work is important, but it is not everything. Griffiths understands that, and she has built a life that reflects it.

If I have a criticism, it is only that I wish the world knew her better. She is famous in Australia and in America, but many people know her only from one role, from Six Feet Under or from Muriel’s Wedding. They do not know the full range of her work, from theatre to film to directing. I think that is a shame, because she is one of the finest actors of her generation, and her work deserves to be seen in full. I hope that more people discover her films, and I hope they see what I see: a great actress, a talented director, and a warm and generous person.

What I take away from her story is the value of choosing well. Griffiths has always chosen her roles carefully. She has played women who matter, women who are real, and women who tell a story worth telling. She has not chased fame for its own sake. She has chased good work, and the fame followed. That is a lesson for anyone, not only actors. You do not have to take every chance. You have to take the right chances, the ones that matter, and do them well. Griffiths did that, and her career is the proof that it works.

In the end, I think Rachel Griffiths’s story is about a girl from Melbourne who loved theatre, who worked hard, and who became one of the most respected actors in the world. It is a story about warmth, about family, and about the courage to try new things. She is an actress, a director, a wife, and a mother, and she does all of those things well. I admire her, and I think her story is one that will inspire many people, especially young women who want to act, who want to direct, and who want to tell their own stories.

I think about Muriel’s Wedding a lot, because it is a film that means so much to so many people, and because Griffiths’s performance as Rhonda is at its heart. Rhonda is a best friend, a loyal and funny young woman who encourages Muriel to be brave. But Rhonda also faces illness, and her life changes in ways she did not expect. She played Rhonda’s happiness and her hurt together, with a sincerity that made viewers love the character. I think that is the mark of a great actress: the ability to play a character who is both funny and sad, and to make both sides feel true. Griffiths did that, and she won an award for it. She deserved it.

Griffiths gave her a warmth and a wit that made viewers love her at once. It is easy to play a dramatic character. It is much harder to play an ordinary person, and to make that person interesting. Griffiths did it, for five seasons, and she did it well. That shows her range.

Hacksaw Ridge is a film I respect, and I think Griffiths’s small role as Bertha Doss is a good example of her talent. She played a mother, a woman who is strong and loving, and she did it with a quiet dignity. She did not try to steal the film. She supported it, and she made the family at its centre feel real. That is a sign of a generous actress, a person who understands that a film is a team effort. Many actors try to be the star in every scene. Griffiths understands that sometimes the best thing you can do is to support the story.

Her work in Total Control is something I want to mention, because it shows her in a new light. She played a political adviser, a sharp and intelligent woman who understands how power works. It was a role that suited her, because she is herself a smart and thoughtful woman. She played the character with a confidence and a clarity that made the audience trust her. I think that is a sign of her versatility. She can play a best friend, a therapist, a sister, a mother, and a political adviser, and make each of them feel real.

If I have a criticism, it is only that I wish the world knew her better. She is famous in Australia and in America, but many people know her only from one role, from Six Feet Under or from Muriel’s Wedding. They do not know the full range of her work, from theatre to film to directing. I think that is a shame, because she is one of the finest actors of her generation, and her work deserves to be seen in full. I hope that more people discover her films, and see what I see: a great actress, a talented director, and a warm person.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where was Rachel Griffiths born?

Rachel Griffiths was born on 18 December 1968 in Melbourne, Australia. She studied acting at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne before working in theatre and then in film and television.

What was Rachel Griffiths’ breakthrough film?

Her breakthrough film was Muriel’s Wedding in 1994, in which she played Rhonda Epinstalk, the best friend of Muriel. She won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role.

What character did Rachel Griffiths play in Six Feet Under?

She played Brenda Chenowith in Six Feet Under, which ran from 2001 to 2005. Brenda was a complex and brilliant therapist, and Griffiths won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role.

Did Rachel Griffiths direct a film?

Yes, she directed Ride Like a Girl in 2019, the true story of Michelle Payne, the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup. It was her first feature film as a director and was a success in Australia.

Who did Rachel Griffiths play in Hilary and Clinton?

She played Hillary Clinton in the 2016 television film Hilary and Clinton, about the early years of Hillary and Bill Clinton’s relationship. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for the performance.

Is Rachel Griffiths married?

Yes, she is married to the artist Andrew Taylor. They married in 2002 and have three children together. They live in Melbourne, Australia.