# Rachel Friend

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.

## Career

Friend began her screen career with roles in Zoo Family, Prime Time and The Bartons. She also starred in the 1986 family adventure film Frog Dreaming.
Friend joined the cast of the soap opera Neighbours in 1988, when she was eighteen. Friend chose to postpone her university degree to join the show as Bronwyn Davies. Friend quit Neighbours in 1990. That same year saw her win the Logie Award 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 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

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1986 | Frog Dreaming (aka The Quest (US) and The Go Kids (UK) | Wendy | Feature film |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1985 | Zoo Family | Susie’s friend | TV series, season 1, episode 22: "The Good, The Bad and Martin" |
| 1986 | Prime Time | | TV series |
| 1988 | The Bartons | Miranda | TV series, season 1, episode 10: "Bartons on the Beach" |
| 1988–90 | Neighbours | Bronwyn Davies | TV series, 199 episodes |
| | Round The Twist | Mermaid | TV series |
| 1991 | Golden Fiddles | Kitty Balfour | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1991 | Midday | Reporter | TV series |
| 1992 | Mission Top Secret | Annette | TV movie / pilot |
| 1993 | London Tonight | Reporter | TV series |
| 1996 | Wild Life | Presenter | TV series (also writer) |
| 1999 | A Current Affair | Reporter | TV series, 1 episode (interviewing Stuart MacGill) |
| | Saturday Kitchen | Co-host (with husband Stuart MacGill) | TV series |
| 2001 | A Current Affair | Reporter | TV series, 1 episode: "Vaccination: A Stab in the Dark?" |
| 2005 | Under the Grandstand | Guest | TV series, 1 episode: #1.4 |
| 2007 | Beauty and the Beast | Guest | TV series |
| 2007 | Mums and Bubs | Presenter | TV series (also producer) |
| 2009 | New Idea TV | Host | TV series |
| 2010 | The Morning Show | Guest | TV series |
| 2018 | The Go Kids: Looking Back on Frog Dreaming | Self | TV special (short) |
| 2019 | Tidying Up with Marie Kondo | Guest | TV series, season 1, episode 1: "Tidying with Toddlers" |

## Awards

| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
| 1990 | Neighbours | Logie Awards | Most Popular Actress | Won |

## Personal life

In 1993, Friend married Australian actor-singer Craig McLachlan whom she had met on the set of Neighbours. 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.