Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a drama program at York University, she began her acting career in 2001. She made her American feature film debut in 2002's The Hot Chick. 2004 marked a turning point in the actress's career when she starred in the hit films Mean Girls and The Notebook.
She has also starred in such commercially successful films as Wedding Crashers, Red Eye and The Family Stone, all 2005 releases. The same year McAdams took break from acting before shooting her next project, Married Life (2008), in 2006. Since then, she has appeared in other films, such as Guy Ritchie's 2009 Sherlock Holmes as Irene Adler, 2010's Morning Glory, in which she plays the lead, and Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight in Paris. Having previously been engaged to former co-star Ryan Gosling, she is now in a relationship with Michael Sheen.
Rachel Anne McAdams was born in London, Ontario on November 17, 1978. She grew up in the nearby city of St. Thomas. Her mother Sandra is a nurse and her father Lance is a truck driver and mover. She has two younger siblings: Daniel and Kayleen, a celebrity make-up artist.When McAdams was 4 years old, she learned to figure skate and took up the hobby competitively until the age of 18. An interest in acting sparked when she was child after seeing a performance by a children's theater group. From then on she acted in local productions at the age of 10 at London's Original Kids Theatre Company At the age of 12, McAdams played one of the witches in William Shakepeare's Lady MacBeth, a part she would later reprise in college. McAdams received an award in 1995 for her performance in I Live in a Little Town, a play written and performed by students that was featured in Sears Ontario Drama Festival. She attended the Myrtle Street Public School.
In addition to playing sports while at high school, she served on the student council, participated in the Crimestoppers program and helped fellow students as a member of the Peer Helping Team. McAdams's mother did not put an emphasis on looks nor allow her to wear make-up until high school. During her teens, McAdams worked at a McDonalds food-chain for three years.While she did enjoy acting, McAdams did not plan on pursuing it professionally until her last year of high school Her figure skating won her the Gold Dance Award from the St. Thomas Figure Skating Club in 1997. McAdams's achievement is marked by an inscription on a plaque in the hallway of its arena, on which her surname is misspelled. Always feeling that she lacked the complete discipline that was required, McAdams chose to act instead. "I miss skating," McAdams told Parade. "But I used to get so nervous before competitions. I'd wake up in a cold sweat. I don't miss that." She attended Toronto's York University as a drama student and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2001.
The 2001 release of My Name is Tanino marked the debut screen performance of McAdams. She followed this with a role of the teenaged version of Wendy Crewson's character in 2002's Perfect Pie, earning her a Genie Awards nomination, the Canadian version of the Academy Awards. The film that put her on the map was the Anna Faris-starring comedy The Hot Chick, also a 2002 movie, as a catty high school student who swaps bodies with a small-time criminal.McAdams's first United States film, she said it was a "huge milestone" in her life. Then she played a recurring part on the Canadian dramedy cable series Slings and Arrows.
breakout came in Mark Waters's American teen comedy Mean Girls,[16] written by Tina Fey and based in part on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes. Originally, a 26 year-old McAdams pursued the lead part of Cady, before Lindsay Lohan was cast. McAdams instead played teenage Regina George, a malicious queen bee and leader of the Plastics who Cady tries to sabotage. She was unable to see herself in that type of part until reading the script and realizing it was the more fun role Mean Girls was a hit amongst critics and movie goers, topping the US box office and totaling more than $129 million in theater revenue.
She has also starred in such commercially successful films as Wedding Crashers, Red Eye and The Family Stone, all 2005 releases. The same year McAdams took break from acting before shooting her next project, Married Life (2008), in 2006. Since then, she has appeared in other films, such as Guy Ritchie's 2009 Sherlock Holmes as Irene Adler, 2010's Morning Glory, in which she plays the lead, and Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight in Paris. Having previously been engaged to former co-star Ryan Gosling, she is now in a relationship with Michael Sheen.
Rachel Anne McAdams was born in London, Ontario on November 17, 1978. She grew up in the nearby city of St. Thomas. Her mother Sandra is a nurse and her father Lance is a truck driver and mover. She has two younger siblings: Daniel and Kayleen, a celebrity make-up artist.When McAdams was 4 years old, she learned to figure skate and took up the hobby competitively until the age of 18. An interest in acting sparked when she was child after seeing a performance by a children's theater group. From then on she acted in local productions at the age of 10 at London's Original Kids Theatre Company At the age of 12, McAdams played one of the witches in William Shakepeare's Lady MacBeth, a part she would later reprise in college. McAdams received an award in 1995 for her performance in I Live in a Little Town, a play written and performed by students that was featured in Sears Ontario Drama Festival. She attended the Myrtle Street Public School.
In addition to playing sports while at high school, she served on the student council, participated in the Crimestoppers program and helped fellow students as a member of the Peer Helping Team. McAdams's mother did not put an emphasis on looks nor allow her to wear make-up until high school. During her teens, McAdams worked at a McDonalds food-chain for three years.While she did enjoy acting, McAdams did not plan on pursuing it professionally until her last year of high school Her figure skating won her the Gold Dance Award from the St. Thomas Figure Skating Club in 1997. McAdams's achievement is marked by an inscription on a plaque in the hallway of its arena, on which her surname is misspelled. Always feeling that she lacked the complete discipline that was required, McAdams chose to act instead. "I miss skating," McAdams told Parade. "But I used to get so nervous before competitions. I'd wake up in a cold sweat. I don't miss that." She attended Toronto's York University as a drama student and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2001.
The 2001 release of My Name is Tanino marked the debut screen performance of McAdams. She followed this with a role of the teenaged version of Wendy Crewson's character in 2002's Perfect Pie, earning her a Genie Awards nomination, the Canadian version of the Academy Awards. The film that put her on the map was the Anna Faris-starring comedy The Hot Chick, also a 2002 movie, as a catty high school student who swaps bodies with a small-time criminal.McAdams's first United States film, she said it was a "huge milestone" in her life. Then she played a recurring part on the Canadian dramedy cable series Slings and Arrows.
breakout came in Mark Waters's American teen comedy Mean Girls,[16] written by Tina Fey and based in part on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes. Originally, a 26 year-old McAdams pursued the lead part of Cady, before Lindsay Lohan was cast. McAdams instead played teenage Regina George, a malicious queen bee and leader of the Plastics who Cady tries to sabotage. She was unable to see herself in that type of part until reading the script and realizing it was the more fun role Mean Girls was a hit amongst critics and movie goers, topping the US box office and totaling more than $129 million in theater revenue.