Rachel Amanda Friend (born 8 January 1970) is an Australian actress and journalist.

Early life

Friend completed her HSC at Sacré Cœur School, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, and deferred a commerce course at

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

Career

Friend began her screen career with roles in '' Zoo Family'', ''

Prime Time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

'' and '' The Bartons''. She also starred in the 1986 family adventure film '' Frog Dreaming''. Friend joined the cast of the soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' in 1988, when she was eighteen. Friend chose to postpone her university degree to join the show as Bronwyn Davies. Friend quit ''

'' in 1990. That same year saw her win the

Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

for Most Popular Actress. After leaving ''Neighbours'', Friend starred as Annette in the telemovie '' Mission Top Secret'', alongside Beth Buchanan. Other roles include '' Golden Fiddles'' (1991), and a brief appearance in '' Round The Twist'' as a mermaid. Friend hosted the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

show '' Saturday Kitchen'' with her husband Stuart MacGill on Saturday afternoons. In 2003, Friend established her own PR company, "Media Friendly", and in July 2007 produced and presented the Seven Network parenting show, ''Mums and Bubs''. In 2009, Friend began hosting a television show on the Seven Network called '' New Idea TV'' alongside Barbara Northwood, Tom Williams and a variety of other presenters.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

Personal life

In 1993, Friend married Australian actor-singer

Craig McLachlan Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap o ...

whom she had met on the set of ''

''. They divorced the following year. McLachlan's hit song "Amanda" was about Friend, which is her middle name. Friend married Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill in 2000 after meeting in 1999 when she interviewed him for '' A Current Affair''. They have two children together – a boy born in 2003 and a girl born in 2006. The pair separated and subsequently divorced in 2013.

References

External links

MediaFriendly website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Friend, Rachel 1970 births Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Living people Logie Award winners Place of birth missing (living people)