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Blonde for one role, brunette the next, actress Rachel McAdams has used more than appearances to conceal herself in the characters she has played. Though in her early career she often played the bitchy girl with a cruel streak to rival any teenaged pom-pommer—or third-world dictator—McAdams has also effectively played warm, genuine kind and high-spirited. And while still relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, McAdams possesses both the look and talent to become a major star.

Originally from London, Ontario—a picturesque Canadian town—McAdams craved the spotlight at an early age. At 4, she began competing as an ice skater, but over the years the pressure from competition, and her mother, soon wore the young McAdams out. All the while, McAdams was traveling to nearby Stratford to attend local theater and soon developed an interest in acting. At 12, she performed Shakespeare at the Original Kids Theatre in her hometown. She won her first acting award in 1995 for her role in I Live In A Little Town, a high school play that was featured in the Ontario Showcase of the Sears Drama Festival. After gaining valuable skills and experience as an Original Kid and in high school performances, McAdams attended York University where she performed in numerous student films and stage productions. She graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater.

McAdams made her first on screen performance in “The Famous Jett Jackson” (Disney, 1998-2002) as Hannah, the bulimic older sister of one of the main characters. She went on to star in several movies-of-the-week, including “Guilt By Association” (2002), the first original movie to be produced by Court TV. McAdams also had a starring role in “Shotgun Love Dolls” (MTV, 2001), a pilot shot for the music network that ultimately collected dust on the shelf. Her feature debut came with “My Name is Tanino” (2001), a comedy helmed by Italian director Paolo Virzi, about a young, carefree Italian (Corrado Fortuna) who chases after an American tourist (McAdams) to the U.S. after their romantic liaison in his hometown. A breakout role in the Canadian feature “Perfect Pie” (2002) helped cement McAdams as an acting force to be reckoned with—her performance as the best friend of a small town girl who makes it big won her a nomination for a Genie Award, Canada’s equivalent to the Oscar.

After a successful stint in Canada’s entertainment industry, McAdams set her sights on Hollywood. Though many actors who try to transfer success from their native lands to America usually suffer years of struggle, McAdams managed to land a big role right out of the gate. She starred in “The Hot Chick” (2002), a teen comedy about a mean-spirited high school girl—popular, captain of the cheerleading squad and dating the quarterback—who gets a heavy dose of comeuppance when, though the workings of a spell, wakes up to find herself trapped in the body of a 30-something man played by Rob Schneider. McAdams did another turn as a mean-spirited high schooler in “Mean Girls” (2004), written by “Saturday Night Live” veteran Tina Fey. Though similar to her role in “The Hot Chick”, McAdams delved deep into character by exploring the machine-like quality of wanting to hurt people just for the fun of it, and she also brought a surprisingly level of sympathy to the character.

Despite her penchant for playing mean girls, McAdams was always on the hunt for imaginative scripts with challenging characters. Her search paid off when she was cast in “The Notebook” (2004), a star-crossed period romance between a spunky Southern debutante and a poor but charming small town man (Ryan Gosling). An effectively sentimental and emotional film, “The Notebook” proved to be McAdams’ breakout performance—the actress popped off the screen in nearly every scene she was in, running the full spectrum of emotion, and demonstrated the promise for a long and fruitful career.

She followed up with the popular Owen Wilson-Vince Vaughn comedy “Wedding Crashers” (2005), adding sparkle and verve to what might have otherwise been a thankless role as the woman who finally snares the inveterate wedding invader Wilson’s heart. Then she took center stage in the Wes Craven thriller “Red Eye” (2005), playing a resourceful hotel employee who finds herself trapped on an airline flight with a menacing stranger (Cillian Murphy) who terrorizes her to switch the room of a political guest at her hotel in exchange for her father’s life. Again McAdams demonstrated a strong on-screen magnetism and proved she could create a believable, relatable character in the midst of the most high-concept situation. She was then part of the ensemble cast in “The Family Stone” (2005), relationship drama about the eldest son (Dermot Mulroney) of a bohemian family bringing his controlling New York girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker) home for the holidays. The ensuing battle of conflicting attitudes mixed with awkwardness and hostility causes relationships to split and secrets to be revealed.

• Born:
  on 10/07/1976 in London, Ontario, Canada
• Job Titles:
  Actress

Family

• Brother: Daniel McAdams. younger
• Father: Lance McAdams.
• Mother: Sandy McAdams.
• Sister: Kayleen McAdams. younger

Significant Others

• Companion: Ryan Gosling. met while filming “The Notebook”

Education

• York University, Toronto, Canada, Theatre Arts, B.A.
• Original Kids Theatre Company, London, Ontario

Milestones

• 2001 Had her first starring role in “Shotgun Love Dolls,” a pilot for MTV
• 2001 Made her acting debut as a girl with bulimia in the Disney series “The Famous Jett Jackson”
• 2002 Had a co-starring role opposite Rob Schneider in the major studio comedy, “The Hot Chick”
• 2002 Made her film debut in the Canada/Italy co-production “My Name is Tanino”
• 2002 Starred as Patsy in the Canadian film “Perfect Pie”; earned a Genie nomination for Best Supporting Actress
• 2003 Starred in the six-part comedy TV series “Slings and Arrows,” starring Paul Gross.
• 2004 Cast opposite Lindsay Lohan as one of the title characters in the comedy “Mean Girls,” screenplay by Tina Fey
• 2004 Co-starred opposite fellow Canadian Ryan Gosling in the feature film “The Notebook,” about two young people in love who have to make choices
• 2005 Cast as the youngest memeber of the Stone family in “The Family Stone” with an ensemble cast including Diane Keaton and Luke Wilson
• 2005 Cast opposite Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in the comedy “The Wedding Crashers”
• 2005 Co-starred with Cillian Murphy in Wes Craven’s airplane thriller “Red Eye”