Rachel McAdams Naturally Curly Haired Goddess

Rachel McAdams Naturally Curly Haired Goddess

Rachel Anne McAdams is often compared to Pretty Woman Julia Roberts and not just because she has naturally curly hair.

Although she finds the comparison to the Academy Award winning actress flattering, Rachel has told the media "I want to carve out my own path."

Her biggest inspiration in terms of an actress she would like to follow to fame?  Elizabeth Taylor.  The 5'5" Rachel has said "I lovvve Elizabeth Taylor."  she also quotes Audrey Hepburn to be her role model.

The actress has publicly said her other favorite actresses include Joan Cusack, Juliette Lewis, Kate Winslet and Samantha Morton.

Rachel, whose nickname was "Rach" was born November 17, 1978 in London, Ontario, Canada and is of Irish descent.  She was raised in St. Thomas, Ontario.

She was a competitive figure skater beginning at the age of four.  She discovered her passion for acting while studying theater as a college student in Ontario.

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" in 1998 followed by a pilot for MTV.

Over the course of her acting career, which initially took flight in 2002 with Rob Schneider, in The Hot Chick, Rachel's hair color has transitioned from baby blonde to dark cherry red and creamy milk chocolate.  She's also experimented with pink and an array of other exotic colors.

Besides taking risks with her color, the actress has also mixed up her hair styles alternating between beautiful updos, long waves and a sassy short brunette bob which she showcased in 2004 at the premiere of New Line Cinema's "The Notebook".

Naturally Blonde And Curly Hair

In 2006 Teen People found a photo of Rachel at her Ontario, Canada high school in the early 1990s.  Her brown hair was pulled back from her face and cascaded into a thick sheet of tightly curled natural ringlets.

Even though the actress has channeled many different hair colors over the past few years, her natural hair color is blonde.  Which is definitely rare.

Since her first appearance in Hot Chick, Rachel has alternated between wearing her hair bone straight and full of lush waves.

Rich Butter Blonde In Hot Chick

In 2002's Hot Chick Rachel wore her hair in a rich butter blonde hue with an off-center part and soft waves.  Her hair was just slightly below her shoulders.

Rachel's life changed in 2004 when she met co-star and on-again, off-again love Ryan Gosling (they are currently off) on the set of The Notebook.

Ryan was impressed with Rachel and told the media "she's got chops" with regard to Rachel's acting abilities.

The actress was also in Mean Girls, but told the press the movie was not like her real life experiences.  She said "I didn't have a group (in school).  I had me."

Rachel has some scenes with Owen Wilson in Wedding Crasher and said "it was passionate" with regards to the character she and Owen played.

Red Eye

In 2005 Rachel appeared in the lead role of Lisa Reisert in Red Eye.   That same year she also co-starred as Amy Stone in The Family Stone with Diane Keaton and a stellar cast.

Her career slowed way down and she did not appear in another film between 2005 and 2008.  At one point she was seriously considered to play the role of Susan Storm/Invisible Girl in Fantastic Four (2005), but lost out to Jessica Alba.

At that point she starred in The Lucky Ones.   Rachel was also in Married Life.   In 2009 she appeared in State of Play with two more films pending.  One is Sherlock Holmes.  She has one film in production for 2010.

Rachel made news when she dropped out of the Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue cover shoot at Suite A studio in New York City on November 11, 2005.

She dropped out at the last minute when she discovered the shoot would be of her nude along with Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson.

Some believe Rachel's last minute decision to drop out of the controversial nude event hurt her career as an actress.   Whether that's true or not we may never know although if her recent roles are any indication it's doubtful.

It was recently announced that she is slated for at least two films in 2012 which includes The Vow and a Terrence Malick Project.