Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams (5' 5" (1.65 m) born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. Her breakout role was for portraying the "Queen Bee," Regina George, in the 2004 hit film Mean Girls. She then starred in the film adaptation of The Notebook and the hit comedy Wedding Crashers. Her other film credits include The Family Stone, Red Eye and The Time Traveler's Wife. More recently she starred in Guy Ritchie's 2009 adaptation of Sherlock Holmes as Irene Adler and in 2010's Morning Glory as Becky Fuller.
Rachel McAdams was born in London, Ontario and grew up in the nearby city of St. Thomas. 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 age 12 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 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 city. She graduated from York University in Toronto with honours and a BFA degree in Theatre in 2001. During her fourth year at York, she played a child in "The Piper."
McAdams played a leading role in the film The Hot Chick alongside Rob Schneider, but her breakthrough occurred when she starred as Regina George, the school's popular prom queen, in 2004's Mean Girls. McAdams had previously appeared in the Canadian television series Slings and Arrows, co-starring Paul Gross. She played a main role in the first season, but due to her rising stardom was written out of the second season, and appeared only in the first episode. She followed Mean Girls with the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel The Notebook, with Ryan Gosling, with whom she would later begin an off-screen romance.
In 2005, she played Owen Wilson's love interest in Wedding Crashers. Wedding Crashers remains her highest domestic grossing film at over $209 million. She next starred in the suspense thriller Red Eye as Lisa Reisert, playing a young woman held captive aboard a red-eye flight by criminal-for-hire and assassin Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy). Red Eye was directed by Wes Craven and proved to be a surprise late summer hit, garnering a critics score of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. McAdams also starred in The Family Stone as part of an ensemble cast alongside Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Brian J. White and Claire Danes. She auditioned for the role of Sue Storm in Fantastic Four, but lost the part to Jessica Alba.
McAdams' career slowed down in 2006. She 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 later decided to take the year off from acting and spend time with friends and family. McAdams then agreed to star in the drama Married Life with Pierce Brosnan and Patricia Clarkson. She turned down the role of Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the James Bond film Casino Royale as well as Anne Hathaway's role in The Devil Wears Prada and a significant role in Mission: Impossible III.
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. When McAdams appeared on set and discovered it was nude, she politely declined, according to Knightley. In an interview with PARADE Magazine, McAdams stated, "When you're playing a fictional character, it's as normal and mundane as eating breakfast. What bothers me is our culture's obsession with nudity. It shouldn't be a big deal, but it is. I think this overemphasis with nudity makes actors nervous. There's the worry about seeing one's body dissected, misrepresented, played and replayed on the Internet."
McAdams starred in three major studio releases in 2009. She first starred in the political thriller State of Play alongside Academy Award winners Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren. McAdams also played the title role of Clare Abshire in The Time Traveler's Wife opposite Eric Bana, which was released on August 14, 2009. The film was based on Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 novel of the same name. In a film released on Christmas Day of that year, McAdams starred in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic stories. McAdams played the role of Irene Adler alongside Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law.
McAdams co-starred with Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford and Jeff Goldblum in Morning Glory, released in the US on November 10, 2010. The movie opened in fifth place for its opening weekend, grossing $9.2 million. McAdams has been widely praised for her role as Becky Fuller, a breakfast television (A.M. morning TV) producer, in the film.
McAdams stars in Woody Allen's next film Midnight in Paris, the opening film at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, which is scheduled to premiere on May 11, 2011. The movie is scheduled to get a limited release in the US on May 20, 2011.
McAdams will also be reprising her role as Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, due out December 16, 2011. She no longer has the female lead, but it has been confirmed by the studio that she will play a part in the sequel. The Vow, alongside Channing Tatum, is due on Valentine's Day 2012, and an upcoming Terrence Malick film, rumoured to be titled The Burial, is likely due out sometime in 2012. These three films are currently[when?] in post-production.
Rachel is also signed on to be the voice of Alex in an animated series called MyCat due out sometime in 2011.
McAdams received popular acclaim for roles in both Mean Girls and The Notebook and was honored for her work, including 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 Movie 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.
She hosted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 2006 Scientific and Technical Awards. McAdams received a Civic Award for her contribution to culture from the city of St. Thomas in 2006.
In April 2009, she was awarded the Female Star of The Year by ShoWest.
McAdams won for "Actress Action Adventure" award on the 2010 Teen Choice Awards, for her role on Sherlock Holmes. She was also nominated for the "Actress Sci-Fi" award, for The Time Traveler's Wife.
McAdams dated Ryan Gosling, whom she had met during the making of The Notebook, from 2004 to February 2007. They were engaged to be married, but she called off the engagement. In late 2010, McAdams began dating actor Michael Sheen, her Midnight in Paris co-star.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
