Rachel Griffiths

Rachel Anne Griffiths AM born 18 December 1968 is an Australian film and television actress She came to prominence with the 1994 film Muriels Wedding and her Academy Award nominated performance in Hilary and Jackie 1998 She is best known for her portrayals of Brenda Chenowith in the HBO series Six Feet Under and Sarah Walker Laurent on the ABC primetime drama Brothers Sisters Her work in film and television has earned her a Golden Globe Award two Screen Actors Guild Awards and three Australian Film Institute Awards Griffith attended Melbourne University studying philosophy before attending the drama department at Victoria School of the Art  After college she began working with the touring youth company Woolly Jumpers Theater Company as well as the Melbourne Theater Company where she appeared in numerous dramas   Griffiths made a name for herself in 1991 when she wrote and performed in the short film Barbie Gets Hip which was screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival She landed a few TV spots before she was cast as Rhonda Toni Collettes sidekick in PJ Hogans Muriels Wedding 1994 winning her an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actress These successes jumpstarted her career landing her numerous dramatic and comedic roles in overseas productions before making her American cinema debut with her second PJ Hogan collaboration My Best Friends Wedding 1997 In the fall of 2001 Griffiths accepted her first major television series role and came aboard Alan Balls HBO series Six Feet Under  Griffith stayed with the show during its five years of critical acclaim while at the same time continued to appear an lend her voice to screen and directtovideo features before returning to telvision to star in Brothers and Sisters to much similar acclaim