Rachel McAdams Biography

Date of Birth
17 November 1978, London, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name
Rachel Anne McAdams

Nickname
Rach

Height
5' 5" (1.65 m)

Mini Biography
Rachel McAdams was raised in St. Thomas, Ontario. Starting at the age of four, she competed in figure skating. By the age of 13, she was performing in Shakespearean productions in summer theater camp.

In high school, McAdams intended to apply to college to study cultural studies, because studying theater would be "a bit of a joke". At the last minute, a drama teacher encouraged her to audition to be a drama major. She eventually majored in theater at York University and graduated with honors and a B.F.A. degree.

She began her professional on-screen career with an appearance on the Disney series "The Famous Jett Jackson" (1998) followed by a pilot for MTV. After a few more films, she hit it big after her appearance in the hits Mean Girls (2004) and The Notebook (2004).

IMDb Mini Biography By: jatza

Trivia
Attended Original Kids Theatre Company in London, Ontario.

Her father, Lance, is a truck driver and her mother, Sandy, is a nurse. She has a younger sister, Kayleen McAdams, and a younger brother, Daniel.

Born in the same hospital as The Notebook (2004) co-star Ryan Gosling in St. Joseph's Hospital, London, Ontario.

In 1995, she received an acting award for her role in the one-act high school play "I Live in a Little Town" when it was presented at the prestigious Ontario Showcase at the Sears Drama Festival.

Studied theater at York University in Toronto, where she appeared in numerous stage and student film productions. During her senior year, she played a child in "The Piper", a workshop led by a creative team from Toronto's Necessary Angel Theatre Company.

Worked at a McDonald's for three summers with her sister, Kayleen McAdams, and her brother, Dan McAdams.

Was told to partly model the character of Regina George after Alec Baldwin's performance in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992).

Received a record five MTV Movie Award nominations in a single year.

Graduated from York University in Toronto with honors & a B.F.A. in theater

Formerly a vegetarian.

She donated many signed head-shots to Rocky Stone to be auctioned off to raise money to buy more toys for less fortunate kids as part of the Toy Mountain Campaign.

Is of Irish descent.

Attended David Rothenberg's on-camera acting class in Toronto with fellow actors Scott Speedman, Kenneth Mitchell, Polly Shannon and David Sutcliffe.

In December 2005, she was #1 on MuchMusic's "Who To Do: 20 Sexiest Girls" list. This list is aired each year, and there is also a separate list for guys.

Named #14 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list.

Met her former boyfriend, Ryan Gosling, on the set of The Notebook (2004).

Ranked #17 on Maxim's hot list 2006.

Was in consideration for the role of Sue Storm in Fantastic Four (2005), but Jessica Alba was cast instead.

Named #51 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006).

While a student at York University, she lived in the same "house" as Ron Sparks in Vanier Residence.

Had to turn down the female lead in The Last Kiss (2006) due to scheduling conflicts. The role was eventually given to Jacinda Barrett.

Was considered for the role of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale (2006), before the role was given to Eva Green.

She was voted the #101 on FHS's list of Sexiest Women in the World (2005).

Is a vegetarian again.

Lives in the popular Los Angeles neighborhood of Silverlake. Other Silverlake locals include Beck, Bo Barrett, Christina Ricci, Jason Lee and Ryan Gosling.

Older sister of Kayleen McAdams.

Has been in a relationship with Ryan Gosling twice. They were originally together from June 2005 until July 2007 before reconciling in August 2008, only to separate a second time in November 2008.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#68). [2007].

Has a dog named George, which she shared with Ryan Gosling.

Has naturally blond hair.

She doesn't own a car. As part of her daily contribution to help conserve energy, she rides her bike or takes the bus.

Co-founder of www.greenissexy.org, a website which helps raise awareness about the environment.

Was Jon Favreau's first choice to play Pepper Potts in Iron Man (2008), but she turned the role down. Gwyneth Paltrow was subsequently cast instead.

Likes shopping at Vintage clothing stores.

Originally auditioned for the role of Cady in Mean Girls (2004), before being cast as Regina.

Avoided flying airplanes until age 22.

Auditioned for the role of Sophie for the musical Mamma Mia! (2008) but lost out to actress Amanda Seyfried. Seyfried had lost out to McAdams previously for the role of Regina when they both co-starred in Mean Girls (2004).

Her favorite actresses include: Joan Cusack, Juliette Lewis, Kate Winslet, Laura Dern, Renée Zellweger and Samantha Morton. She also considers Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn to be her role models.

She would love to work with Daniel Day-Lewis, James Franco and Sam Rockwell.

She is allergic to horses.

Learned to drive after a bike accident.

Learned to appreciate rugby from Russell Crowe.

Publicist has announced that Rachel does not have a Twitter account (August 2009).

Was in consideration for the role of Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight (2008), but Maggie Gyllenhaal was cast instead.

Was in a relationship with Josh Lucas (January-August 2009).

Was in consideration for the role of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (2012), but Carey Mulligan was cast instead.

Ranked #48 in the 2010 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women." Previously she was ranked #50 in 2008 and #89 in 2006.

Ranked #15 in the 2007 Ask Men Australia top 99 "most desirable women" list.

In a relationship with Michael Sheen [May 21, 2011].

Personal Quotes
As strange as movie making is, doing love scenes for the first time with someone you've never even said hello to does work in terms of having a fresh quality to a relationship.

It takes a lot of time, commitment and a choice. I've chosen this path, but it's not to say I'm not open to love or whatever comes my way. You never close doors.

The craziest thing I've ever done to get a guy's attention? I admit I stalked someone. I showed up at a restaurant where I knew the guy worked, and we were actually good friends and had lost touch, and I pretended that I didn't know he worked there. And then ran into him and, "Oh my God, you work here? I had no idea." It's the most manipulative thing I've done in my entire life, but it all worked out very well, so I have no regrets.

Yeah. I still live in Canada, so it's not quite the same. And when I'm in L.A., I'm in a car; you don't have the contact with the public. It's not so bad. It's still pretty much the same. I still feel pretty normal-ish.

The most romantic thing, a lovely boy bought me a dress once. He got my measurements, actually they were from The Notebook (2004) and I had them sitting somewhere, and he found them and bought me this dress, tailor-made, this beautiful little black cocktail dress. And I thought that was very, very classy.

I want to try a lot of things that I haven't tried. You know, I did a thriller (Red Eye (2005/I)) after this, because it was so different and it was a genre I hadn't worked in yet. Then I did a beautiful family ensemble drama. And next? I don't know. I might go off to do a small independent in New York. I'm not sure. The quality of material is important but, basically, I'm open to anything. I like to stay open to anything.

A friend of mine had this great theory about the "Teletubbies" (1997), that it's preparing us for being mindless. And getting us ready for living in an underground world. When they build the underground world because we can no longer breathe the air that it will look like Teletubbie land.

I don't know, I like to go on really different types of dates. Going someplace new or some new part of the city, something that's not your average thing. Something where you just go have an adventure together.

I guess you have to be really open to your acting partners and believe in the story.

I have a certain curiosity for life that drives me and propels me forward.

Rachel McAdams