Rachel Friend
Encyclopedia
Career
Friend joined the cast of the soap opera NeighboursNeighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
in 1988, when she was eighteen. Friend chose to postpone her university degree to join the show as Bronwyn Davies
Bronwyn Davies
Bronwyn Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Rachel Friend. She made her first on-screen appearance on 7 July 1988. Bronwyn is the sister of Sharon Davies. Bronwyn fell in love with Henry Ramsay and when he left for New Zealand, she...
. Friend quit Neighbours in 1990. That same year saw her win the Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
for "Most Popular Actress".
Other roles have included the films Frog Dreaming
Frog Dreaming
Frog Dreaming is a 1986 Australian film starring Henry Thomas.In the United States the film was named 'The Quest'. In the United Kingdom it was named 'The Go-Kids'....
(1986) and Golden Fiddles (1991). She had a brief appearance in Round The Twist
Round the Twist
Round the Twist is a Logie Award-winning Australian children's television series about three children and their widowed father who live in a lighthouse and become involved in many magical adventures....
as a Mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
.
Friend surprised her fans and colleagues when she switched to journalism in 1991. She worked as a reporter, producer and host on programs including The Midday Show, Wildlife, The Today Show, Health Dimensions, Sky News, Saturday Kitchen, Mums and Bubs and New Idea TV.
In 2003, Friend established her own PR and communications company, MediaFriendly. www.mediafriendly.com.au She runs media training and communications courses for corporate clients.
Personal life
She married Australian cricketer Stuart MacGillStuart MacGill
Stuart Charles Glyndwr MacGill is a former right-arm leg spin bowler of the Australian cricket team, with a domestic career at Western Australia, New South Wales, Nottinghamshire, Devon and Somerset...
in 2000. They have two children together.