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 followed by a pilot for MTV. After a few more films, she hit it big after her appearance in the hits Mean Girls and The Notebook.



Morning Glory (2010): $2,000,000
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009): $4,000,000
Red Eye (2005): $1,000,000

Attended Original Kids Theatre Company in London, Ontario. Born in the same hospital as The Notebook (2004) co-star Ryan Gosling in St. Joseph's Hospital, London, Ontario. 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. Was told to partly model the character of Regina George after Alec Baldwin's performance in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). Graduated from York University in Toronto with honors & a B.F.A. in theater 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. Attended David Rothenberg's on-camera acting class in Toronto with fellow actors Scott Speedman, Kenneth Mitchell, Polly Shannon and David Sutcliffe. Named #14 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list. Ranked #17 on Maxim's hot list 2006. Named #51 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006). Had to turn down the female lead in The Last Kiss (2006) due to scheduling conflicts. The role was eventually given to Jacinda Barrett. She was voted the #101 on FHS's list of Sexiest Women in the World (2005). Lives in the popular Los Angeles neighborhood of Silverlake. Other Silverlake locals include Beck, Bo Barrett, Christina Ricci, Jason Lee and Ryan Gosling. Split with Ryan Gosling. [Mid-2007] Has a dog named George, which she shared with Ryan Gosling. She doesn't own a car. As part of her daily contribution to help conserve energy, she rides her bike or takes the bus. Was Jon Favreau's first choice to play Pepper Potts in Iron Man (2008), but she turned the role down. Originally auditioned for the role of Cady in Mean Girls (2004), before being cast as Regina. 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). Has once again called it quits with former fiancé Ryan Gosling [November 2008]. She would love to work with Daniel Day-Lewis, James Franco and Sam Rockwell. Learned to drive after a bike accident. Publicist has announced that Rachel does not have a Twitter account (August 2009).