[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Rachel_McAdams_Biography-2.jpg]]

->''"With any project I work on...I don't feel the need just to play a strong woman. I don't want the audience to say, 'Oh, she was so strong.' I want to play characters that are flawed and interesting."''

Rachel Anne [=McAdams=] (born November 17, 1978 in London, Ontario) is a Canadian actress.

Adams first came to prominence playing the title role in the 2002 comedy ''Film/TheHotChick'' alongside Creator/RobSchneider, but her career really progressed when she starred as "queen bee" Regina George in 2004's ''Film/MeanGirls''. She followed this with the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel ''Film/TheNotebook'' where she co-starred alongside Creator/RyanGosling, with whom she later began an off-screen romance.

In 2005, she played Owen Wilson's love interest in ''Film/WeddingCrashers'', then starred in the suspense thriller ''Film/RedEye'' as Lisa Reisert, a young woman held captive aboard a red-eye flight by criminal-for-hire and assassin [[MeaningfulName Jackson Rippner]] (Creator/CillianMurphy).

In 2009, [=McAdams=] starred in Creator/GuyRitchie's ''Film/{{Sherlock Holmes|2009}}'', where she played the role of Irene Adler alongside Creator/RobertDowneyJr as Holmes and Creator/JudeLaw as Watson; she reprised the role in the 2011 sequel, ''[[Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows A Game of Shadows]]''. Also in 2011, she starred as Becky Fuller in the cult comedy ''Film/MorningGlory'', alongside Creator/HarrisonFord and Creator/DianeKeaton.

[=McAdams=] has been to said to have an old school Hollywood beauty about her. In fact, part of what helped her land her role in ''Sherlock Holmes'' was her classic looks, which didn't make her look too young to be a love interest for Creator/RobertDowneyJr (13 years her senior). Among the people she has dated in RealLife are Creator/RyanGosling (2005–07) and Creator/MichaelSheen (2010–13); since 2014, she has been in a relationship with screenwriter Jamie Linden, with whom she has a son (born in 2018) and a daughter.

Some people [[FanNickname jokingly refer to her]] as the "Time Traveler's Love Interest", with the nickname cropping up after she starred in four films playing the love interest to a male lead who could time travel or control time in some way — ''Film/TheTimeTravelersWife2009'', ''Film/MidnightInParis'', ''Film/AboutTime'', and ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}}''. [=McAdams=] herself has reportedly gotten sick of this and wants to be in a movie where ''she'' can be the time traveler for a change.

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!!Selected Filmography:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Film roles]]
* ''Film/GuiltByAssociation'' (2002) as Danielle
* ''Film/TheHotChick'' (2002) as Jessica Spencer / Clive Maxtone
* ''Film/MeanGirls'' (2004) as Regina George
* ''Film/TheNotebook'' (2004) as Allison "Allie" Hamilton
* ''Film/WeddingCrashers'' (2005) as Claire Cleary
* ''Film/RedEye'' (2005) as Lisa Reisert
* ''Film/TheFamilyStone'' (2005) as Amy Stone
* ''Film/StateOfPlay'' (2009) as Della Frye
* ''Film/TheTimeTravelersWife2009'' as Clare Abshire
* ''Film/{{Sherlock Holmes|2009}}'' (2009) as Irene Adler
** ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows'' (2012)
* ''Film/MorningGlory'' (2010) as Becky Fuller
* ''Film/MidnightInParis'' (2011) as Inez
* ''Film/TheVow'' (2012) as Paige Collins
* ''Film/{{Passion}}'' (2012) as Christine Stanford
* ''Film/ToTheWonder'' (2012) as Jane
* ''Film/AboutTime'' (2013) as Mary
* ''Film/AMostWantedMan'' (2014) as Annabel Richter
* ''Film/{{Aloha}}'' (2015) as Tracy Woodside
* ''Film/{{Southpaw}}'' (2015) as Maureen Hope
* ''Film/{{Spotlight}}'' (2015) as Sacha Pfeiffer [[note]]UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Supporting Actress[[/note]]
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' (2016–present) as Dr. Christine Palmer
** ''Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}} '' (2016)
** ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'' (2022)
* ''Film/GameNight'' (2018) as Annie Davis
* ''Film/{{Disobedience}}'' (2018) as Esti Kuperman
* ''Film/EurovisionSongContestTheStoryOfFireSaga'' (2020) as Sigrit Ericksdottir
* ''Film/AreYouThereGodItsMeMargaret'' (2023) as Barbara Simon
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Television roles]]
* ''Series/TheFamousJettJackson'' (1 episode, 2001) as Hannah Grant
* ''Series/EarthFinalConflict'' (1 episode, 2002) as Christine Bickwell
* ''Series/SlingsAndArrows'' (7 episodes, 2003–05) as Kate [=McNab=]
* ''Series/TrueDetective'' (8 episodes, 2015) as Det. Antigone "Ani" Bezzerides
* ''[[WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 What If...?]]'' (1 episode, 2021) as Dr. Christine Palmer (voice)
[[/folder]]

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!!Tropes relating to her roles:
* ActorAllusion:
** In ''Film/RedEye'' the photo of Lisa playing hockey is a screenshot of Rachel from ''Film/MeanGirls''.
** She has played an artist and painter in three films - ''Film/TheNotebook'', ''Film/TheVow'' and ''Film/TheTimeTravelersWife2009''.
** Rachel has also played the love interest of time travelers in ''The Time Traveler's Wife'', ''Midnight In Paris'', ''About Time'', and ''Doctor Strange''.
* DawsonCasting: Most egregious in ''Film/MeanGirls'' - where she was 24. In fact she was eight years older than her co-star Creator/LindsayLohan.
* DyeHard: Naturally brunette, but known to dye her hair blonde and red over the years. She wore a Blonde wig in Film/MeanGirls.
* FakeAmerican: She's Canadian but most of her roles are Americans.
* OlderThanTheyLook: She's in her mid-forties but looks to be in her late twenties-early thirties.
* RealitySubtext: She had a fear of flying in her youth, lending a lot to her role in ''Film/RedEye''.
* ReclusiveArtist: She doesn't use social media or give many interviews, and has stated in the past that she likes to keep her privacy.
* RomanceOnTheSet: With Creator/RyanGosling on the set of ''Film/TheNotebook''. Which is quite amusing, because they reportedly didn't get on at first.
* StarMakingRole: The double whammies of ''Film/TheNotebook'' and ''Film/MeanGirls'' instantly made people know who she was.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** She was the first choice for Andy in ''Film/TheDevilWearsPrada'', but turned it down. Creator/AnneHathaway ended up playing her.
** She had to turn down the female lead in ''The Last Kiss'', which then went to Jacinda Barrett.
** She was also the preferred choice for Pepper Potts in ''Film/IronMan1'', which ended up going to Creator/GwynethPaltrow. Rachel would later join the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse in ''Film/DoctorStrange2016''.
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