Early Life
Rachel Anne McAdams was born in London, Ontario, and grew up in nearby St. Thomas. Her mother, Sandra (née Gale), is a nurse, and her father, Lance, is a retired truck driver and furniture mover. McAdams has two younger siblings: Kayleen, a celebrity make-up artist, and Daniel. She has "a lot of Welsh" ancestry through a grandmother. McAdams began figure skating at the age of four but turned down an opportunity to move to Toronto at the age of nine for pairs training. Skating then became merely "a hobby". She competed in the sport until the age of 18, winning regional awards. She has since said that skating prepared her for physical acting, because it trained her to be "in tune" with her body. McAdams was educated at Myrtle Street Public School and, later, Central Elgin Collegiate Institute. She did not enjoy school and, to avoid attending, and often pretended to be sick. Nonetheless, she played an active role in student life. In addition to playing sports, McAdams served on the student council, participated in the Crimestoppers program and was a member of the Peer Helping Team. She worked at a McDonalds restaurant during the summer holidays for three years.
McAdams first developed an interest in performing when she was seven and, while her parents did not discourage her, they did not "go out and find an agent". She attended both Disney and Shakespeare summer camps as a child. From the age of twelve, McAdams appeared in Original Kids Theatre Company, London productions. In her late teens, she directed children's theatre productions. She was also involved in school stage productions, most notably winning a performance award at the Sears Ontario Drama Festival. She was inspired by a married couple who taught English and Drama respectively in grades 11 and 12. They gave her a love for the works of Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell and encouraged her to lose her inhibitions when performing. McAdams intended to take Cultural Studies at university before being persuaded by her drama teacher that a professional acting career was a viable option. She enrolled in York University's four-year theatre program and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts honours degree in 2001. While at university, McAdams worked with the Toronto-based Necessary Angel Theatre Company.
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