This week Nicola and Di chat with the incredibly talented Rachel Griffiths. Rachel really needs no introduction - having starred in so many award-winning films and TV shows, including Brothers & Sisters, Six Feet Under, Anyone But You, Hilary and Jackie, My Best Friend’s Wedding and the iconic Muriel’s Wedding, she is quite simply Australian acting royalty. Her talent has been recognised with countless awards including 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe award, a further 3 Golden Globe nominations, 4 Emmy nominations and an Academy Award nomination for her role in Hilary and Jackie. She’s also a writer, producer and director, the wife of painter Andy Taylor and in her own words, an imperfect mother of 3. 

In this episode we hear about Rachel being born in Newcastle, growing up in Melbourne, but how a day trip to Sydney’s Palm Beach in the 90s, led to her falling in love with the landscape and buying a house that day - making her one of our neighbours. 

We chat to Rachel about the early days of her career - what it was like starring in huge films like Muriel’s Wedding and My Best Friend’s Wedding, her intense 10 year studio contract in the US, and what it was that made Rachel choose to move back to Australia with her family. Rachel gives us insight into how much the industry has changed over the last 30 years and the differences between movie stars of the 90s and the younger generation of actors today.

We also talk all about her new TV series, Madam, which is based on the true story of a woman who decides to set up an ethical brothel in New Zealand. We get into a really interesting discussion about the sex work industry, the economics of it and how it is so closely connected to the loneliness epidemic.  

Rachel also opens up to us about her kids, what she believes makes her marriage work, and why she thinks Esther Perel is amazing.

This was one of those conversations where it felt like we were all girlfriends having a chat and we laughed so hard, that Rachel’s watch thought she’d been doing a HIIT workout! We hope you find it as much fun as we did. 

This episode is proudly sponsored by Eir Women. Use code OTBF20 at checkout to receive a 20% discount on any purchase. 

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