Rachel McAdams

Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in teen comedy Mean Girls and romantic drama The Notebook. In 2005, she appeared in romantic comedy Wedding Crashers, thriller Red Eye and family drama The Family Stone and was hailed by the media as "the next Julia Roberts". However, she withdrew from public life in 2006 and 2007. During this time, she turned down leading roles in, amongst others, The Devil Wears Prada and Casino Royale.

She made a low-key return to work in 2008, starring in two little-seen independent films, Married Life and The Lucky Ones, but returned to prominence in 2009 with appearances in political thriller State of Play, sci-fi romance Time Traveler's Wife, TheThe Time Traveler's Wife and action-adventure Sherlock Holmes. Her first star vehicle was 2010 comedy Morning Glory. In 2011, she appeared in Woody Allen's romantic comedy Midnight in Paris. She will make a cameo appearance in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in late 2011 and will appear in two movies in 2012: romantic drama The Vow with Channing Tatum and an as-yet-untitled Terrence Malick film with Ben Affleck.

Rachel Anne McAdams was born in London, Ontario and grew up in nearby St. Thomas.Her mother, Sandra (née Gale), is a nurse and her father, Lance, is a retired truck driver and furniture mover.She has two younger siblings: Kayleen, a celebrity make-up artist, and Daniel. She was educated at Myrtle Street Public School and, later, Central Elgin Collegiate Institute. She did not enjoy academic work but played an active role in student life. In addition to playing sports, she served on the student council, participated in the Crimestoppers program and was a member of the Peer Helping Team. She worked at a McDonalds restaurant during the summer holidays for three years.

She began figure skating at the age of four but turned down an opportunity to move to Toronto at the age of nine for Olympics pairs training. Skating then became merely "a hobby". She competed in the sport until the age of eighteen, winning regional awards. She gave it up when entering university. She appeared in Original Kids Theatre Company, London productions from the age of 12, most notably winning a performance award at the Sears Ontario Drama Festival. She intended to take cultural studies at university before being persuaded by her drama teacher that a professional acting career was a viable option. She enrolled at Toronto's York University as a drama student and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts honours degree in 2001. While at university, she worked with the Toronto-based Necessary Angels Theatre Company.

 

Career

Breakthrough roles
McAdams' first on-screen appearance was in 2001's My Name is Tanino. She earned a Genie Award nomination in her native Canada in 2002 for her role as a teenage Wendy Crewson in Perfect Pie.Her first Hollywood movie was 2002's The Hot Chick, in which she played a catty high school student who swaps bodies with a small-time criminal. She later described the film as a "huge milestone" in her career. She then returned to Canada to play a recurring part in the dramedy cable series Slings and Arrows. Her breakout role came in 2004 teen comedy Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey. The 25 year-old was cast as teenage Regina George, a malicious queen bee. Mean Girls topped the US box office.McAdams received favourable reviews, with USA Today praising her "comic flair".

Her second role of 2004 was in The Notebook, a film adaption of Nicholas Sparks' novel. She and Ryan Gosling played a young 1940s couple separated by circumstance. Despite a "treacly" storyline, critics were won over by Gosling and McAdams, with The New York Times remarking, "Their performances are so spontaneous and combustible that you quickly identify with the reckless sweethearts, who embody an innocence that has all but vanished from American teenage life. And against your better judgment, you root for the pair to beat the odds against them." McAdams was nominated for nearly a dozen awards, mostly at the MTV and Teen Choice Awards.

She starred in three films in 2005. In Wedding Crashers, a highly successful comedy, she played Claire Cleary, the daughter of an influential politician and Owen Wilson's love interest. The New York Times' chief film critic, Manohla Dargis, felt McAdams "makes the most of her underdeveloped character" and "grows more appealing with every new role".She next appeared opposite Cillian Murphy in Red Eye, a Wes Craven thriller following a young woman held captive aboard a red-eye flight. Variety found her "increasingly impressive" while Roger Ebert asserted that "she brings more presence and credibility to her role than is really expected; she acts without betraying the slightest awareness that she’s inside a genre. Her performance qualifies her for heavy-duty roles. Her final film of 2005 was family drama The Family Stone, an ensemble with Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson and Claire Danes.The New York Times felt that "Ms. McAdams' engaging screen presence holds your attention and sympathy despite the handicap presented by her character's personality.

 

Article source : Wikipedia