McAdams was born in London, Ontario, and grew up in nearby St. Thomas. Her father, Lance, is a truck driver, and her mother, Sandy (Sandra), is a nurse. She has a younger sister, Kayleen, and younger brother, Daniel.
At the age of four, she took up competitive figure skating. She took up acting at age thirteen at a summer theater camp. When the company extended to a year-round company, she was invited to continue with them. During her senior year at York University in Toronto, she played a child in The Piper - a workshop led by a creative team from Toronto's Necessary Angel Theatre Company. She attended 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 with honours and a B.F.A. degree in theatre. She also attended Original Kids Theatre Company in London, Ontario, as well as David Rothenberg's on-camera acting class in Toronto with fellow actors Scott Speedman, Kenneth Mitchell, Polly Shannon and David Sutcliffe.
Career
She had a large role in the film The Hot Chick, alongside Rob Schneider, but her career really took off when she starred as "Regina George", "queen-bee" in 2004's Mean Girls. She starred opposite Hollywood It-Girl Lindsay Lohan. McAdams was told to partly model the character of Regina George after Alec Baldwin's performance in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). Mean Girls got McAdams's name into many homes in the United States, and she won rave reviews for her performance.
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. The pair would later continue their on-screen romance, rumoured to have started after they shared a passionate kiss onstage when accepting the MTV movie award for "best kiss."
In 2005, she played Owen Wilson's love interest in Wedding Crashers. Rachel then starred in the suspense thriller Red Eye as Lisa Reisert, a young woman held captive aboard a red-eye jet by criminal-for-hire and assassin Jackson Rippner (played by Cillian Murphy), whose name is a pseudonym based on Jack the Ripper. Her most recent role is in the comedy The Family Stone where she stars alongside Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson and Claire Danes.
McAdams abruptly opted out of a cover shoot for Vanity Fair alongside two other Hollywood "It girls," Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley, upon finding out it was to be nude. Tom Ford, artistic director for the cover, instead appeared with them. Ford had prearranged the shoot with McAdams's rep, Wolf Kasteller s Amy Van Iden. When McAdams appeared on set and discovered it was nude, she politely declined, according to Keira Knightley. She also reportedly fired Van Iden.
McAdams turned down the role of the Bond girl in Casino Royale and it was given to Eva Green. She was also considered for the role of Susan Stom/Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four and was going to star in The Last Kiss but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Jacinda Barrett then stepped in to replace her. She will soon be seen in the 2007 movie Marriage.
Personal life
McAdams currently lives in Toronto, Canada. She is a former vegetarian, and is currently dating fellow Canadian actor Ryan Gosling. Both were born in St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario. She moved to L.A. after she started dating Ryan Gosling.
Awards/Achievements
McAdams received popular acclaim for both roles and was honoured 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, Jessica Alba, and Jessica Simpson. She was named #14 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list and #17 in the 2006 Hot 100issue. In December 2005, she was #1 on MuchMusic's "Who To Do: 20 Sexiest Girls" list. McAdams was also voted the #10 on FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005.
McAdams was nominated for a Genie Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Academy 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
At the age of four, she took up competitive figure skating. She took up acting at age thirteen at a summer theater camp. When the company extended to a year-round company, she was invited to continue with them. During her senior year at York University in Toronto, she played a child in The Piper - a workshop led by a creative team from Toronto's Necessary Angel Theatre Company. She attended 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 with honours and a B.F.A. degree in theatre. She also attended Original Kids Theatre Company in London, Ontario, as well as David Rothenberg's on-camera acting class in Toronto with fellow actors Scott Speedman, Kenneth Mitchell, Polly Shannon and David Sutcliffe.
Career
She had a large role in the film The Hot Chick, alongside Rob Schneider, but her career really took off when she starred as "Regina George", "queen-bee" in 2004's Mean Girls. She starred opposite Hollywood It-Girl Lindsay Lohan. McAdams was told to partly model the character of Regina George after Alec Baldwin's performance in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). Mean Girls got McAdams's name into many homes in the United States, and she won rave reviews for her performance.
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. The pair would later continue their on-screen romance, rumoured to have started after they shared a passionate kiss onstage when accepting the MTV movie award for "best kiss."
In 2005, she played Owen Wilson's love interest in Wedding Crashers. Rachel then starred in the suspense thriller Red Eye as Lisa Reisert, a young woman held captive aboard a red-eye jet by criminal-for-hire and assassin Jackson Rippner (played by Cillian Murphy), whose name is a pseudonym based on Jack the Ripper. Her most recent role is in the comedy The Family Stone where she stars alongside Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson and Claire Danes.
McAdams abruptly opted out of a cover shoot for Vanity Fair alongside two other Hollywood "It girls," Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley, upon finding out it was to be nude. Tom Ford, artistic director for the cover, instead appeared with them. Ford had prearranged the shoot with McAdams's rep, Wolf Kasteller s Amy Van Iden. When McAdams appeared on set and discovered it was nude, she politely declined, according to Keira Knightley. She also reportedly fired Van Iden.
McAdams turned down the role of the Bond girl in Casino Royale and it was given to Eva Green. She was also considered for the role of Susan Stom/Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four and was going to star in The Last Kiss but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Jacinda Barrett then stepped in to replace her. She will soon be seen in the 2007 movie Marriage.
Personal lifeMcAdams currently lives in Toronto, Canada. She is a former vegetarian, and is currently dating fellow Canadian actor Ryan Gosling. Both were born in St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario. She moved to L.A. after she started dating Ryan Gosling.
Awards/Achievements
McAdams received popular acclaim for both roles and was honoured 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, Jessica Alba, and Jessica Simpson. She was named #14 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list and #17 in the 2006 Hot 100issue. In December 2005, she was #1 on MuchMusic's "Who To Do: 20 Sexiest Girls" list. McAdams was also voted the #10 on FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005.
McAdams was nominated for a Genie Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Academy 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
- Marriage (2007) – Kay
- The Family Stone (2005) – Amy Stone
- Red Eye (2005) – Lisa Reisert
- Wedding Crashers (2005) – Claire Cleary
- The Notebook (2004) – Allie Hamilton
- Mean Girls (2004) – Regina George
- Slings and Arrows (2003) (TV series) – Kate McNab
- The Hot Chick (2002) – Jessica Spencer/Clive Maxtone
- Perfect Pie (2002) – Patsy (age 15)
- My Name Is Tanino (2002) – Sally Garfield
- Guilt by Association (2002) (TV) – Danielle
- Shotgun Love Dolls (2001) (TV series) – Beth
