Rachel McAdams: Hollywood’s It Girl Who Disappeared | Deep Dive

Striking while the iron is hot is essential to staying on top in Hollywood. What someone does at their lowest, most vulnerable moment is what separates everyday people from superstars. However, today’s deep dive subject really challenges that. Rachel McAdams became a breakout star in the early 2000s Hollywood scene with cult classic after cult classic.

 But right at the peak of her career, she walked away from everything all because a major publication tried to trick her into bearing it all. So, dive deep with me as I detail the shocking and truly one-of-a-kind story of Rachel McAdams and just how she dominated the entertainment industry her way. Rachel McAdams story starts far away in Canada in London, Ontario.

 Here, Rachel was raised by her parents, Lance and Sandra McAdams. Lance was a professional mover and Sandra worked as a nurse. Rachel has always set her low-key upbringing far away from Hollywood is what she credits developing her sense of groundedness, loyalty, and privacy. From as early as the age of four, Rachel excelled in the world of children’s figure skating.

 Her parents even offered to move her to Toronto to pursue skating full-time. But Rachel was happy where she was with all of her friends. She valued her life that she was building. At such a young age, Rachel showed her preference for balance over just accelerating her career all the time. And this would be very telling of how her career would progress in the future.

Now, this didn’t mean Rachel turned a complete blind eye to the spotlight of Hollywood fame and glamour. Recently, she’s revealed that around the time she turned 8 years old, she wrote a letter to her parents pleading to let her appear on Star Search. But Rachel realized quickly that she quote didn’t possess any of the required skills to make it on that show.

 But she knew she wanted on that early on in her life. Around the time Rachel turned 12 is when she found the world of acting and theater. She had begun acting with the original kids theater company, and this is where Rachel blossomed into the performer she is today. But don’t get it twisted. Unlike nearly every other deep dive subject, Rachel wasn’t pushed aggressively into figure skating or acting by her parents.

 They were her genuine interests as a child. And because Rachel was so laser focused on her craft, most of Rachel’s childhood struggles were centered around honing her skills. Her discipline didn’t come from her parents. It actually came from the very nature of the creative arts she was obsessed with. Rachel worked hard from a very early age to become not only the best figure skater she could be, but an amazing actress as well.

 But no matter how amazing Rachel got, her family was sure to help her preserve her childhood and not let her interests turn into work. Instead of being a professional figure skater, Rachel got a normal day job at McDonald’s. This was really a character-building childhood for Rachel and was setting her up to be the type of star the entertainment industry hadn’t seen in a very long time.

 The opportunity for Rachel to hit the ground running had been there since she was a young kid. But Rachel and her family alike wanted her to have a normal childhood over anything else. So, in 2001, entrenched in young adulthood, Rachel would attend New York University. And here, she would earn her bachelor in fine arts.

 Rachel was now 23 years old, and her career was just now starting. She’d basically gone through artistic boot camp, and her teachers were seemingly leading her to victory. Rachel credits her drama teacher, Linda Mscal Pereira, and English teacher, Christopher Pereira, for completely changing the course of her life. And her life would truly transform.

 While Rachel had minor stage recognition in high school for her production of I Live in a Little Town, her first major entrance into the world of Hollywood came during her final semester of college. In spring break 2001, Rachel landed the MTV pilot Shotgun Love Dolls and even appeared in Disney Channel’s original series, The Famous Jet Jackson.

 Rachel debuted in her first film this year as well in My Name is Tyeno. Immediately, Rachel became one of Hollywood’s most talked about newcomers. And the next year, in 2002, her career officially began bubbling under. The next year, Rachel would debut in Earth: Final Conflict, Guilt by Association, and The Matthew Shepard Story.

 All of these TV shows served as the building blocks for Rachel’s everrowing resume. She would never be offered the career-defining roles she starred in. If she didn’t expertly execute these smaller TV acting roles, creating the perfect portfolio. Now, many consider her breakout movie role to be The Hot Chick, a Freaky Friday style movie where a teen girl switches bodies with a fully grown man.

Now, this movie came out in 2002 and really showcased Rachel’s ability to carry out a comedic role to the fullest extent. Speaking of smaller TV roles, I know Rachel’s biggest fans definitely remember Slings and Arrows because that was her longest running TV show. And of course, her character of Kate McNab was very well-loved.

 It’s really interesting to me that she starred on this show from 2003 to 2005 because those were her most pivotal years. Now, from 2001 to 2003, Rachel was countlessly auditioning for massive roles. And even though she was likely the best actress for the jobs she was auditioning for because she hadn’t had her massive break yet, and she was relying completely on resume, a lot of the roles she auditioned for went to big stars, even if Rachel had better acting jobs.

 However, this would all change in 2004 when Rachel made the life-changing decision to audition for SNL comedian Tina Fay’s new teen comedy she was working on, aptly titled Mean Girls. Now, believe it or not, Rachel initially auditioned for the part of Katie Herren, not expecting to get the part at all. To put it all in perspective, she was auditioning for a major lead, and she’d still not had a major breakout role.

Though her audition was incredible, director Mark Waters felt Rachel seemed a bit too mature for the part of a 17-year-old Katie Herren, a young homeschool student who moved from Africa to a new school. Meanwhile, straight out of the Disney Channel machine off of projects like Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and most importantly Freaky Friday, a fresh freckled Lindsay Lohan audition for the part of Regina George.

Now, it’s important to note that director Mark Waters has said countless times that the movie Mean Girls was developed with Lindsay Lohan in mind as the character of Regina. When Tina Fa discovered the book Queen Bees and Wannab Bees in 2002 and approached Mark Waters to direct a comedy based on it, he was actively directing the hit movie Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and Jaime Lee Curtis.

 Over the course of this movie, Mark saw how dynamic Lindsay was and knew he had a big hit on his hands with Freaky Friday. Thus, when Tina said she envisioned Lindsay Lohan as the part of Regina, Mark Waters was happy to join the project. When Mark visited Lindsay on the set of Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen to talk to her about Mean Girls, Lindsay confided in Mark that she wanted to go for the part of Regina George because she was tired of playing the damaged and broken girl, and she wanted to be the cool girl on set for once. This was

music to Mark Waters ears, as Lindsay Lohan’s tenacity and unapologetic personality in interviews read perfectly to him for the character of High School Queen Bee. Now, if you’ve seen our other videos about Lindsay Lohan, then you know at this time Lindsay was embroiled in her very own Mean Girls drama with Hillary Duff.

 So, she very realistically could have played the protagonist or antagonist. When they paired Rachel and Lindsay up for chemistry reads, they initially had Rachel read for the part of Katie Heron and Lindsay for the part of Regina George. The director noted that Lindsay was really intimidated by Rachel’s intensity with the character of Katie.

 Rachel truly became the roles that she played. All those years and years of acting for fun had really paid off. Rachel was well equipped now to become the most prolific actress Hollywood had ever seen. But because Rachel was so mature and intimidating to Lindsay during her audition, Tina and Mark from the Mean Girls production team both felt she would make the character of Regina completely unforgettable.

 They also reportedly told her that she was quote too old for Katie, but perfect for Regina. On the other side of the coin, Lindsay’s team was actively fighting party girl and mean girl rumors in Lindsay’s real life. And Lindsay was naturally intimidated by Rachel’s skill, so it would read as much more authentic if Rachel was the one terrorizing Lindsay.

 Thus, directly after the release of Freaky Friday, it was decided by the chairperson of Paramount at the time that it was too risky to cast a newly bankable teen like Lindsay Lohan as the role of villain. So, Lindsay would be the main character of Katie Herren and Rachel McAdams would transform into the iconic character of Regina George.

 Rachel has since said that she wanted into Mean Girls regardless. When she initially read the script for Mean Girls, she told her representation at the time that she would play any part in the movie. She didn’t care. Just get her into Mean Girls, saying she loved Tina’s script. so much that she would even take a character with just one line.

>> Did you audition for Migos, too? Is that a process? Do >> Yeah, I auditioned for um the Lindsay Lohan part. >> Wild. >> Yeah. And then Mark Waters said, “All due respect, you are too old to play cuz I was 25. I was 25, 26.” >> Um and I think Lindsay was I think she turned 17 on that movie cuz I remember going out for a birthday dinner.

>> Whoa. >> What were you? Let’s be real. Were you plastic? Yeah, >> I was not a plastic. I didn’t really have a group. Uh, it was a bit of a floater. Uh, played sports, did drama. >> So, looking back, what would you have, if you could have picked, would you? >> I think I always thought I wanted to be part of the popular group, but obviously it really wasn’t my sensibility.

 I think looking back now, I’m I’m glad I I stuck it out, stayed out of it. And >> it may have been decided that Lindsay wasn’t perfect for Katie, but reportedly Amanda Scyifide and Rachel McAdams were the final two in the running for the part of Regina. The director then said that the choice agonized their team for weeks.

 Amanda’s Regina was reportedly more ethereal and scary, but Rachel’s was intimidating and upfront and ultimately more impactful. This amazing attitude of wanting to play any character just to be in the movie propelled Rachel into playing the best Regina George possible. From September through November in 2003, Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Scyifride, Lacy Chabert, and Rachel McAdams would make cult film history and finished principal photography for Mean Girls.

 And y’all, I know if you’re watching this video, you are well aware that Rachel embodied this role on such sophisticated level. Her exasperated and dead pan facial expressions, even her wild emotional scenes. My New Year’s resolution was to not say this word in every single video and only save it for when it matters, cuz I think people use it a little too freely these days.

 But Rachel made the character of Regina George truly iconic. And I don’t have to tell any of you, even though the movie has been absolutely dissected and oversaturated on YouTube, there are so many videos. Rachel McAdams as Regina George will never get old. You’ve seen me do multiple Mean Girls themed videos, even this one.

 And Mean Girls still stands the test of time. It just never gets boring. I mean, just look into her eyes during this movie. There is no Rachel to be found. That is all Regina. She is so lost in this character. >> We do not have a click problem at this school. But you do have to watch out for frenemies. >> What are frenemies? >> Frenemies are enemies who act like friends.

 We call them frenemies >> or enemies. >> Or friends who secretly hate you. We call them freigherss. >> That is so gay. was in I was in an early screening of the of the show and um and uh the you know the theater was packed and and everything’s going well and then we get to the the end and I get hit by the bus and everyone was so well behaved up until that point and everyone just jumped up like people were jumping up out of their seats screaming and cheering these like meaty guys in the front like giving each other high fives like arinoio I mean

>> and I was like >> yeah So, what do you do? >> Down in my seat thinking, “Oh my god, I’ll just take it as a compliment.” >> Yeah. Well, it is a it is a compliment cuz it’s it’s not you. You’re just playing that character, but it’s almost like playing the wicked witch of the west. >> So excited that I was dead.

>> Yeah. Every Reginaism feels directly from the soul of Rachel McAdams. And I think Regina was obviously on the mood board for High School Musical and pretty much any Disney Channel original movie past 2004. Anyway, on April 30th, 2004, Mean Girls released with a nearly $24 million opening weekend.

 For a $17 million movie, this was a major success, and it would go on to gross over $130 million worldwide. And it’s still considered one of the biggest cult classic films of all time. And I think part of that is because it was introduced on Netflix right when Netflix streaming really blew up. Rachel would become a household name overnight.

Audiences across the world were completely moved by her multi-layered portrayal of Regina. And the entire movie was an instant classic. And with all this new buzz, for one of the only times in her entire career, Rachel would go full force in the movie industry and subsequently her relationship. While waiting for Mean Girls to release, Rachel would be contacted about a massive romantic drama directed by Nicholas Sparks titled The Notebook.

 The novel became a bestseller in 1996, so the movie was a highly anticipated and familiar story. This made the casting process quintessential to how the film would be received, and it became one of the most infamous castings in Hollywood history. After Ryan Gosling was chosen for the part of Noah, the hunt for the perfect Alley would commence.

 For multiple weeks in early 2004, Hollywood starlets and talent agents alike made a mad dash for the part of Ally Hamilton. And I mean, everyone who is anyone auditioned. Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Adams, Mandy Moore, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Beal, Jamie King, Kate Bosworth, Claire Danes, and most shockingly, the iconic princess of pop, Britney Spears.

They all threw their hat into the ring, ferociously fighting tooth and nail for the role of Ally. Britney reportedly spending multiple 8-hour days with an acting coach and hours of chemistry reads with Ryan. And this would have been a major pop culture moment as the two have known each other since childhood on the Mickey Mouse Club.

 And Britney was fresh out of her relationship with other fellow musketeer Justin Timberlake. It’s important to note that Britney’s audition tape for that movie was auctioned off on eBay in 2021 with a starting bid of a million and the tape was widely circulated by 2023. Reportedly, Jennifer Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Beiel, Jane McGregor, and Britney Spears were in the final stage of Chemistry Reads with Ryan Gosling, which is wild cuz Jennifer Lawrence would have been really young.

According to directors, she was only 13 and they said Reese Witherspoon was too old for the part. Jessica Beiel explained that she did her audition completely covered in blood in her trailer from the movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre. >> I auditioned for The Notebook, which was going to be the greatest like option for me in my career.

 Like what an amazing thing to get after that. And Ryan and the director came to my trailer. They they came to us on location >> and we auditioned in my trailer at work. >> Really? >> And I would get it. Of course, we know this is the answer. But um >> yeah, in my mind, I just remember having blood on me and being in that white tank top and like took my cowboy hat off and was like, “Okay, let’s I’d love to fall in love with you. Let’s do this.

” >> Jessica told El Magazine, “That’s one that I wanted so badly.” The director, Nick Cassadus, put me through the ringer in an interesting, excitingly creative way. But there’s a million that getaway were glutton for punishment. It’s just rejection. >> Jane McGregor was reportedly the actress Ryan Gosling wanted in the movie as his love interest, and she was high on everyone in the productions list, but her and Ryan ultimately couldn’t quote get there.

 I don’t know what that means, but I guess maybe their chemistry wasn’t as good as he thought. In the words of director Matthew Barry and Nick Casventes, when Rachel McAdams came into read with Ryan, their chemistry was so immediate and their scenes so convincing that Rachel moved the casting directors to tears.

 Even though Rachel wasn’t some huge marquee name like her competitors, she was such a strong actress and fit the part so well, she was perfect for the part of Ally. Directors noting that even though they did 10 separate chemistry reads with very well-known actresses with Ryan, Rachel came up out of nowhere with the most hutbun chemistry with Ryan.

 Rachel recalled while she was reading for the part of Ally, “The only feeling she could remember was that she knew deep down that her life was about to change forever.” Saying, quote, “I thought it would be a dream to be able to do it. I read the script and went to the audition just 2 days later. It was a good way to do it because I was very full of the story.

” Britney Spears recalled in her book that the final audition process came down to her and Rachel and that she’s glad that the part went to Rachel since she felt like acting had become psychologically destabilizing to her. I have a film coming out in June called The Notebook. >> That’s with Ryan Gotling. The Notebook. >> Yeah. Yes, it is. >> It’s cute.

>> Yeah. >> I have never asked about um and this movie is not that steamy, but it’s but there’s a real affection that develops obviously on screen between the two of you, but you don’t know each other when you begin a movie, right? And yet you’re going to have to do love scenes together. >> Yeah.

 So, how do you get to know one another? >> Well, you just, you know, you have love scenes in your private time. >> That’s not true. >> No, no, >> no. >> Uh, but how do you I mean, it’s cuz it’s cuz it’s sort of a it makes you sort of mildly uncomfortable, I would think. But how do you how are we going to do this? Do you sit down and have a conversation about it? >> Sometimes, yeah, most of the time we we would have a conversation.

>> How are you going to do this? How am I going to do that? or >> well sort of >> what’s your sign or >> or you know how about the mix I mean what do you do >> what did we do >> I don’t know I think I was more nervous about it than she was she was kind of uh you were really comfortable >> I was I mean I I knew he was going to be a gent I mean I was pretty sure he was going to be a gentleman and uh you never know but uh What what would not being a gentleman be? He asked.

>> Being a little bit more aggressive in the scene than you’d anticipated. >> I um uh I I don’t know. I think I think you sort of have to jump in before you can jump out. So, you know, we did we did the first scene and we sort of said, you know, anything you’re sort of worried about? Anything you want to talk about? And we we I think we were both sort of on the same page instinctively.

 And >> I think what was interesting also about the way that we did the film is that we shot the last part first and then we did the first part last. So, we had an opportunity to sort of really connect. >> We hit it off in terms of of of acting, you know, at the audition. it it it just worked.

 I mean, it just something clicked and um you know, we just kept going from there and exploring it and and uh yeah, >> now James Garner also told me something that Ryan then had to admit to that when Ryan read the script, he was like, “Uh, a love that lasts this long. Kind of cheesy. Can’t really happen.” >> Yeah.

 he, you know, he never expressed that to me, which is probably a good thing. Uh, that he, you know, but I what I appreciated so much about Ryan’s work and and Nick and their perspective was that they they tried not to go for total sentimentality all the time and, you know, tried to curb the cheese factor as much as they possibly could when making a love story.

 They were all about, you know, lifting this love off the screen, making it work, but at the same time, they didn’t they didn’t fall into the traps of of making a romance. >> Anyway, after Rachel and Brian were selected for their respective roles, the production was off to a very rocky start. The two directors remembered calling each other a few days into the film process, confiding that it was a complete disaster.

 Director Matthew Barry even thought Rachel quote looked bad in the dies before she settled in. He explains that the entire set was a big boys club and that since Rachel was a brand new actress, she was somewhat isolated from the rest of the cast and crew. Matthew revealed that one day during filming, Ryan begged him for a new female lead to read off camera with because Rachel was quote giving him nothing.

 Director Nick Casventes reportedly argued with Ryan off camera about replacing Rachel altogether. And ultimately, Ryan decided to stick it out and trust the process with Rachel. And this is really important because multiple reports from the early audition process of The Notebook describe Rachel’s chemistry with Ryan as effortless, but I guess they just weren’t instantly in love once the movie started filming.

 They had shared emotionally charged chemistry reads, but when it came time to fall in love on camera, Ryan and Rachel genuinely struggled. It’s just wild that arguably the most prolific romantic drama of all time started this rough. Possibly someone like maybe Ryan Gosling coming in. Now, I know famously you work with him on The Notebook and possibly didn’t see eye to eye.

 Is that something that that was real? Oh yeah, that was a Yeah, that’s a unfortunate bit of rumor, but um yeah, I mean uh we certainly had um create, you know, intense creative conversations, but um sorry, what was the question? >> And while their chemistry eventually became a smoother process for both Ryan and Rachel, they didn’t actually click offset of the movie while it was being filmed, which is wild to me because spoiler alert, they did eventually get together in real life, but I’ll get to that a little later in the video.

Anyway, The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams would open on June 24th, 2006 to $13.5 million, and it would eventually gross nearly $118 million internationally. Rachel was being exposed to teen, young adult, adult, and even elderly audiences across the globe. She was defining the era of the Y2K chickflick.

 And honestly, Rachel’s level of acting skill brought major credibility to both Mean Girls and The Notebook. Mean Girls was an amazing ensemble cast filled to the brim with talented actresses. But Rachel would always push her characters over the edge and just bring the entire movie all the way there.

 She was the definition of a scene stealer. And I know this isn’t news to any of you, but both the characters of Ally and Regina impacted film and TV to this very day. You can’t scroll Netflix without seeing some Mean Girls ripoff or romcom that is The Notebook with a new twist. And neither of these movies were the first of their category, but they are widely considered by pop culture enthusiasts to be some of the most classic and iconic films from the early 2000s.

 Because Rachel was the star of the defining romcom and teen movie of the decade, she became one of the most highly talked about newcomer stars of 2004. Needless to say, this caused for the rest of the year to be packed full of filming movies for the next year. The first and most notable would be Wedding Crashers. The director said he chose Rachel McAdams for her ability to be serious in the face of comedy and wackiness.

 Also, that she could be funny and charming while still feeling like a really real, authentic person. According to director David Dobkin, Clare was the most important female role in the movie because she was the emotional center of the story. The audience really had to believe that Owen Wilson’s character would genuinely fall in love and change his entire outlook on life because of her.

 The director auditioned more than 200 actresses for the role before finding Rachel McAdams. But when he found her, he knew she was the one. Now, keep in mind, this was filmed before The Notebook officially released. So, at the time, this could have been considered Rachel’s Breakout if it came out sooner.

 Notably, this was the highest grossing of the three movies, opening in the box office with $33 million opening weekend, trailing directly behind Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at number two in the worldwide box office and topping out at a massive $288 million worldwide. This was Rachel’s highest grossing project to date, and it was a massive worldwide success.

 In 2005, on one fateful night in New York City, nearly a year after their hit movie, The Notebook premiered to the world, Ryan and Rachel would reconnect. Ryan recalled really clicking with her during their reunion and realizing how well they got along together. Despite the rocky beginning of The Notebook, Ryan famously said that their relationship was much more romantic than The Notebook and described Rachel as one of the great loves of his life.

 They would dominate multiple award shows together, famously sharing a rain soaked kiss at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. Heat. HEAT. Get up here. >> COME ON. SAY SOMETHING. >> IT WAS my pleasure. For the next two years, Ryan and Rachel would become one of the most talked

about couples in Hollywood, truly propelling both of their careers to heights neither had seen until that point. But with every great career comes extreme controversy, and Rachel’s was unbelievable. On December 9th, 2005, reports would surface that Rachel McAdams stormed out of a Vanity Fair shoot.

 The article reading that Rachel McAdams stormed out of a November cover shoot for Vanity Fair, firing her publicist on the way out after finding out that fleshobsessed designer Tom Ford expected her to pose naked. Her publicist Amy von Iden had forgotten to tell the Wedding Crashers actress that she would have to undress for the shoot. When she arrived on the LA set and found out what Ford had in mind, she turned tail and promptly fired Vanu.

 The article included a quote saying, “Every magazine wants her on their cover and thinks she’s going to be huge, so she can get away with being picky, but everyone’s really impressed that she stood up for herself. It’s amazing, actually.” End quote. The article reported that Tom Ford had previously told reporters that the entire issue would be naked, and his recent work showcases fondness for nudity, but Rachel’s not reading every single article that Tom Ford is speaking in.

She wouldn’t know this. Anyway, when the cover went live in March of 2006 and a nude Kira Nightly was posing with Scarlett Johansson, photographed by Annie Liboitz on the cover, the details of the story all began adding up. Tom Ford later confirmed that Rachel refused to disrobe upon arrival. And Rachel recalled that upon arriving at the Vanity Fair photo set, she learned how to propose N and she did not want to take off her clothes, so she passed up the opportunity.

 In Rachel’s own words, she said, quote, “I didn’t see any other way. It wasn’t something I could ever possibly see myself doing, i.e. posing nude as myself on the cover of a magazine about Hollywood’s most powerful young women. End quote. Kira Nightly later spoke out and said Rachel told the photographer and designer, quote, “No, I’m not into that.

” And that Kira respected her decision following her decision to leave the photo shoot. And with all the new and growing stories censored on her nude body, Rachel left the entertainment industry for a multi-year hiatus. Keep in mind, this was just after Wedding Crashers, Mean Girls, and The Notebook, arguably one of the more prolific runs for a newcomer in Hollywood.

 and Rachel was walking away from it all. It’s important to note that Rachel had stayed consistent with her story as early as 2008, saying that her hiatus was imperative to her sanity. This had to have been true as over the course of her hiatus, Rachel would turn down multiple career-defining roles. She turned down the role of Andy Sachs in the Devil Wears Prada, Vasper Lind and Casino Royale, Julia Me and Mission Impossible 3, Pepper Potts in the Iron Man trilogy, and even Agent 99 and Get Smart.

 These were massive movies that blew up the careers of the actors who ended up portraying their roles. But that’s exactly why Rachel didn’t want to be in those roles to begin with. She needed to step away and she didn’t want to get completely consumed by Hollywood’s machine. The same machine that frequently chews actors and actresses up and spits them out.

 Now, when your team who’s collecting money off of you begins manipulating you to forsake your own boundaries just so their pockets can get deeper, unfortunately, that’s when most actresses fail to walk away. They just surrender to Hollywood and say that’s how things are. but not Rachel McAdams. >> There’s Wedding Crashers, Red Eye, Family Stone, and then you left.

>> I didn’t make a conscious decision to leave necessarily, but I did I did kind of make a decision to pause. I didn’t think I was dealing so well with with my life changing so quickly and being um so much in the public eye. I I was struggling with that a little bit with the exposure.

 It did allow me to just find myself, center myself in it, and and know I could live without it if I had to. If suddenly tomorrow they all decide, you suck, you can’t be here anymore, you’re out of the club. Well, I left the club first. So, in 2006, Rachel would spend time with her family and take time off after the whirlwind experience she just had with all these massive movies.

 Would Rachel’s momentum have picked up more if she stayed in the spotlight during this time? Maybe. But she knew what was best for herself. Who knows what could have happened if she just kept working deep into the burnout? As 2007 came around, rumors began spreading that Ryan and Rachel had called it quits. Ryan confirmed this notion in GQ magazine, saying, quote, “God bless The Notebook.

 It introduced me to one of the great loves of my life. People do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie. The only thing I remember about our breakup is that we both went down swinging and we called it a draw. End quote. Despite brief reconciliation rumors after this interview in 2007, their relationship would ultimately come to an end for good in 2008.

 Rachel was quoted echoing Ryan’s statement about her saying Ryan Gosling is one of the greatest loves of my life. End quote. Despite starring in Married Life and The Lucky Ones in 2007 and 8, respectively, Rachel’s big comeback after her hiatus was State of Play in 2009. This was also the year Rachel debuted in the massive reboot of Sherlock Holmes, which makes you think, did the guy who played Iron Man have a thing for Rachel? Cuz he wanted her in Iron Man and then she’s in Sherlock Holmes.

 Anyway, Rachel would truly solidify her romcom status, starring alongside Channing Tatum in the hit 2012 movie The Vow. And for the next decade, Rachel would dominate Hollywood, starring in hit movie after hit movie, even joining the Marvel universe with Doctor Strange and grossing nearly $1 billion. It was clear Rachel had proved herself not only as an acting savant but also as Hollywood’s mainstay who can take as much time off as she wants.

Always returning to a massive audience anxiously awaiting her next move. As for Rachel’s love life, after breaking up with Ryan Gosling, Rachel would be linked to a number of her co-stars. The media linked her to Red Eye co-star Josh Lucas while they were filming, but neither Rachel nor Josh has ever confirmed or denied.

 Michael Sheen would star alongside Rachel McAdams in 2010 during Midnight in Paris, and the two instantly hit it off. They would date for about three years until they realized they couldn’t handle a long-distance relationship like they’ve been trying to keep up. She was rumored to have a rebound with Kit Harrington, and she’d even be briefly linked to her True Detective co-star, Taylor Kit.

 But Rachel’s longest relationship would be her current one. Rachel met her current boyfriend, Jaime Lyndon, around 2016. And in 2018, the two welcomed their first child together. Since meeting Jaime, Rachel has become even more private than before, shielding her private life from the world and pretty much never discussing her children publicly.

 So, where does that leave us? In November of 2023, Walmart released a Black Friday commercial that reunited Lindsay Lohan with the Plastics once again, functioning as the first proper reunion the Mean Girls cast had in years, but Rachel was nowhere to be found. When asked why she declined the Walmart commercial, Rachel publicly responded, quote, “Of course, I’d always love to be a part of a Mean Girls reunion. I don’t know.

 I guess I wasn’t that excited about doing a commercial if I’m being totally honest.” End quote. Amanda Sci-Fi has echoed the sentiment, openly campaigning for a reunion of some sort. In 2024, this opportunity sort of presented itself in the form of the film adoption of the Mean Girls musical. While Pina Fay and Lindsay Lohan all appeared in the movie in cameo form, Rachel was noticeably absent.

 And while there’s no evidence supporting that the production had ever even reached out to Rachel for a cameo, again, she didn’t repraise Regina in that Walmart commercial either. And I feel like that was a test to see who would get back in and see if there was even an interest in a Mean Girls movie at all.

 While Tina Fey said there was really no way to get the original cast in due to scheduling conflicts, I really believe that Rachel wants to wait to reprise Regina until it’s a massive film. That is something I know I would definitely want to see. But I want to hear what you think. Be sure to comment below, subscribe to this channel and my second channel, Secret Society, and let me know what you want to see next.

 And I’ll see you all in the next one. Bye. >> Growing up female in this world is not easy. In China, baby girls are routinely put up for adoption. And in parts of Africa, women are still made to live in tents during the time of their menes. And even in fancy countries like the United States and England, seven out of 10 teenage girls have a negative body image.

>> Who cares? Six of those girls are right.