Tracy Louise Ward

Tracy Louise Somerset, Marchioness of Worcester, frequently referred to as Tracy Worcester (née Ward; born 22 December 1958, London) is a former British actress, currently an environmental activist.

Life and work

She is a daughter of the Hon. Peter Alistair Ward (a younger son of William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley and formerly chairman of the family business, Baggeridge Brick PLC) and his first wife, Clare Leonora (Baring), the only child of cricketer Giles Baring. She is the sister of British actress Rachel Ward and also has one brother and two half-brothers. Her great-grandfather, William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the early 20th century, and then Governor-General of Australia. He was the son of Georgina Ward, Countess of Dudley.

Tracy Ward grew up on her father's estate at Cornwell, Oxfordshire. After gaining three 'A'-levels, she went to Paris as a model, and then to work at Christie's in London, and then worked in art galleries in New York. In her early 20s, she trained for an acting career at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) London and the London Drama School.

As an actress, she is best remembered for her role as Tessa Robinson from the second series onwards of the television detective series C.A.T.S. Eyes (1986-1987). She played the first Miss Scarlett in the television drama game show Cluedo (1990); and Katz in the Doctor Who serial Timelash (1985). Her theatre credits include: Our Day Out (Nottingham Playhouse) and Intimacy (Cafe Theatre).

On 13 June 1987, she married Henry Somerset, Marquess of Worcester, a farmer and chartered surveyor who is heir to the Duke of Beaufort. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and his then wife Diana, Princess of Wales attended the wedding. They have three children:

Robert, Earl of Glamorgan (1989)
Lady Isabella Somerset (1991)
Lord Alexander Somerset (1995)

Campaigner

In 1989, Tracy Worcester began working with Friends of the Earth. Since then, she has been active in green politics as Associate Director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture, a trustee of The Gaia Foundation, the Trustee of The Schumacher Society and the Bath Environment Centre, on the Council of the UK's Soil Association, and a member of the International Forum on Globalisation. She was a member of the Referendum Party, opposed Britain's involvement in the European Union. She produced a documentary film called Pig Business, highlighting the environmental and health impact of intensive, industrialised pig farming mass-producing low quality pork.

She backed Julian Assange by pledging bail in December 2010: she lost the money in June 2012 when a judge ordered it to be forfeited, as Assange had sought to escape the jurisdiction of the English courts by entering the embassy of Ecuador.^[1]