Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978)
[1][2] is a Canadian
actress. She is known for her roles in the
Hollywood films
Mean Girls,
The Notebook,
Wedding Crashers and
Red Eye.
Early life
McAdams was born in
London,
Ontario and grew up in the nearby town of
St. Thomas. Her father, Lance, is a
truck driver, and her mother, Sandra, is a
nurse.
[3] She has a younger brother, Daniel, and a younger sister, Kayleen. She took up competitive
figure skating at the age of four and
acting at the age twelve
[4] at a summer theatre camp in St. Thomas, Ontario named Original Kids. When the company extended to a year-round company (and eventually relocated to London, Ontario), she was invited to continue with them. She attended the Myrtle Street Public School
[5] and the publicly-funded secondary school
Central Elgin Collegiate Institute in St. Thomas from grade nine to
OAC and starred in the Award-winning student production
I Live in a Little Town. Later she graduated from
York University in Toronto with Honours and a
BFA degree in Theatre. During her fourth year at York, she played a child in
The Piper – a workshop led by a creative team from Toronto's Necessary Angel Theatre Company. She also attended Original Kids Theatre Company in London, Ontario, as well as David Rotenberg's on-camera acting class in Toronto with fellow actors
Scott Speedman,
Kenneth Mitchell,
Polly Shannon and
David Sutcliffe.
Career
McAdams had the titular role in the film
The Hot Chick alongside
Rob Schneider, but her career really took off when she starred as Regina George, the "
queen-bee" in 2004's
Mean Girls. McAdams was told to partly model the character of Regina George after
Alec Baldwin's performance in
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). She was much older than the character she played. McAdams had previously appeared in the Canadian television series
Slings and Arrows, alongside
Paul Gross. She played a main role in the first season, but due to her rising stardom was written out of the second season, appearing in only the first episode. She followed
Mean Girls with the film adaptation of
Nicholas Sparks' novel
The Notebook, alongside
Ryan Gosling, with whom she would later begin an off-screen romance.
[6] They broke up in 2007.
[7][8] McAdams and Gosling were seen embracing each other at a restaurant near her Toronto home.
[9] On November 8, it was reportedly confirmed that Rachel and Ryan called it quits again.
In 2005, she played
Owen Wilson's love interest in
Wedding Crashers and then starred in the suspense thriller
Red Eye as Lisa Reisert, where she played a young woman held captive aboard a red-eye flight by criminal-for-hire and assassin Jackson Rippner (
Cillian Murphy). Rachel was in
The Family Stone where she starred in an ensemble cast alongside
Diane Keaton,
Craig T. Nelson,
Sarah Jessica Parker,
Dermot Mulroney,
Luke Wilson,
Brian J. White and
Claire Danes. McAdams auditioned for the role of
Sue Storm in
Fantastic Four, and only just lost the part to
Jessica Alba.
[10]McAdam's career slowed down in 2006. She was originally signed on as the female lead in
The Last Kiss but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, and the role was given to
Jacinda Barrett. She decided to take a year off from acting, to spend time with friends and family. McAdams then signed on to star in the drama
Married Life across
Pierce Brosnan and
Patricia Clarkson. She turned down the role of bond girl "Vesper Lynd" in the
James Bond film
Casino Royale. McAdams was also in-talks to star in
Iron Man and
The Dark Knight, but she declined both roles. She stated in an interview in May 2006 that she did not want to star in a big-budget action film because she wanted to pursue other projects.
Despite having appeared nude in
The Notebook McAdams opted out of a cover shoot for
Vanity Fair—in which she was to appear alongside two other young Hollywood actresses,
Scarlett Johansson and
Keira Knightley—upon finding out it was to be nude.
[11] Tom Ford, artistic director for the cover, instead appeared with them. When McAdams appeared on set and discovered it was nude, she politely declined, according to Knightley.
The latest movie she starred in (as a reporter) is
State of Play. Filming was originally scheduled to start in November 2007, but after the film lost its two leading actors,
Brad Pitt and
Edward Norton, the movie has been delayed, started in late January and wrapped production in April 2008.
In October 2008, McAdams was announced to be starring in
Guy Ritchie's new film
Sherlock Holmes[12] - based on
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic stories. McAdams will play the role of
Irene Adler alongside
Robert Downey Jr and
Jude Law. Filming began in October for release a year later.
Awards and achievements
McAdams received popular acclaim for both roles and was honored for her work, most recently a record number of five nominations and three wins at the
MTV Movie Awards in 2005. McAdams beat competition including
Beyoncé Knowles and
Jessica Alba. She won the MTV award for 'Best Kiss' along with
Ryan Gosling in
The Notebook.
McAdams was nominated for a
Genie Award for her role in
Perfect Pie. She was also nominated for the
BAFTA's
Orange Rising Star award which acknowledges the new talents in the acting industry. The award went to
James McAvoy.
She hosted the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences's 2006
Scientific and Technical Awards. McAdams received a Civic Award for her contribution to culture from the city of
St. Thomas in 2006.
Filmography/television
References
Persondata
| NAME | McAdams, Rachel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES |
|
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Canadian actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 17, 1976 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London, Ontario, Canada |
| DATE OF DEATH |
|
| PLACE OF DEATH |
|
