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Rachel McAdams - Biography

Rachel McAdams is an actress known for her roles in Mean Girls, The Notebook, About Time, Doctor Strange, Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret, and more

Rachel McAdams arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere of 'Doctor Strange' on October 20, 2016 in Hollywood, California
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Rachel McAdams Early Life

Rachel McAdams was born on November 17, 1978 in London, Ontario, Canada. Her mother Sandra was a nurse, and her father Lance was a truck driver. She has two younger siblings, Kayleen, a make-up artist, and Daniel, a personal trainer.

Rachel's first moments in the spotlight were not in acting but rather in figure skating, which she did competitively from ages four to 18. She eventually enrolled in York University's four-year theater program, from where she graduated in 2001, and subsequently pursued a career in acting.

Rachel McAdams Acting Career

Rachel's on-screen debut came one year after her graduation from York, on MTV's TV show Shotgun Love Dolls, in which she starred as Beth Swanson. Her Hollywood debut was in 2002's The Hot Chick, starring Anna Faris and Rob Schneider.

She later landed the two roles that made her a household name in the same year, 2004. First was her break-out role, Mean Girls, where she starred as Regina George opposite Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, and Lacey Chabert; later that year came the Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Notebook, where she starred opposite real-life love interest Ryan Gosling.

Other notable works of Rachel's are The Wedding Crashers, The Family Stone, About Time, The Vow, Spotlight, Doctor Strange, Midnight in Paris, Aloha, Morning Glory, and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Rachel McAdams Personal Life

Though Rachel and her The Notebook co-star Ryan have both shared they did not like each other while filming the movie, they eventually dated from 2005 to 2008. She was subsequently in a relationship with her Midnight in Paris co-star Michael Sheen from 2010 to 2013.

In 2016, she started dating screenwriter Jamie Linden. The two welcomed a son in 2018 and a daughter in 2020, though their names have never been revealed.

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