Rachel McAdams Is the Hollywood Sweetheart We Can't Get Enough of — See Our 10 Favorite Movies
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Rachel McAdams has captured the brutality of your high school bully, the youthful innocence of a teenager in love and the nurturing qualities of a mother in the movies she's starred in over the decades.
The Canadian born 45-year-old actress has a range that not many have been lucky enough to possess, but with each project she takes on, she proves time and time again that she's one of Hollywood's brightest stars.
Her very first role came in 2000, when she made an appearance on The Famous Jett Jackson, a Disney Channel series. However, it wasn't until her pivotal role in the 2004 comedy Mean Girls that people saw her for the star that she is. From that point forward, the roles continued coming and she grew into the leading lady we love.
Here, take a look at our 10 favorite Rachel McAdams movies from over the years — do you agree with our ranking?
Rachel McAdams movies, ranked
10. Red Eye (2005)
Taking a red eye flight back to Miami, Lisa, played by Rachel McAdams, meets a charming young man named Jackson (Cillian Murphy) who is headed to the same destination. Sharing a drink and getting to know one another, they come to find that they are seated next to each other. However, Lisa quickly learns that Jackson isn't who she thought he was.
Working for a terrorist organization, he shares with her his plan to assassinate the head of Homeland Security, who is staying at the hotel that Lisa manages. An integral part of his plan, Jackson's goal is for Lisa to reassign the room number in which the head of Homeland Security and his family are staying so he can be properly targeted, all while orchestrating her father's potential murder if she does not comply.
This psychological thriller will have you on the edge of your seat, with McAdams' performance keeping us pulled in until the very end.
Related: Cillian Murphy Movies and TV Shows: From ‘Peaky Blinders’ to ‘Oppenheimer’ a Look at His Top Titles
9. Doctor Strange (2016)
Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a surgeon who, after a car accident, endures severe damage that leaves him unable to operate again. When traditional medical methods can't give him the abilities that he once had, he seeks help from an unexpected source that leads him to a place he never imagined.
Rachel McAdams played Christine, a surgeon that was previously Strange's colleague and girlfriend, who tries her best to help him in the wake of his accident.
8. The Family Stone (2005) Rachel McAdams movies
The Family Stone stars Dermott Mulroney as Everett Stone, who brings his girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) home to spend the holidays with he and his family. When Meredith fails to mesh with Everett's clan, she recruits her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to help do some damage control.
Her sister's arrival brings its own set of obstacles, and Meredith finds herself digging a hole that's only getting deeper. Rachel McAdams plays Amy Stone, the youngest of the Stone family who expresses major disapproval toward Meredith.
"I'd met Rachel [McAdams] for the Amy character many years earlier," writer and director Thomas Bezucha told Entertainment Weekly in 2020.
"In the intervening time, before this version she had done The Notebook, Mean Girls. It was like, 'She's never going to do this movie.' And we got a call from her saying, 'That part's mine, right?'"
7. Are You there God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)
Are You there God? It's Me, Margaret is the 2023 adaptation of the classic and celebrated book published in the 1970s, written by Judy Blume. It chronicles the coming-of-age story of a young girl named Margaret who moves from New York to the New Jersey suburbs with her family.
While there, she makes friends with her neighbor Nancy and a group of girls from her school, all while grappling with issues like puberty, religion, boys and the trials and tribulations of growing up. In this adaptation, McAdams plays the role of Barbara Simon, Margaret's mother.
McAdams was actually pregnant with her second child, a daughter, when she first read the 2023 adaptation. "I remember thinking, 'I would love this to be in the world for her one day,' because it's hard for parents and kids to talk about stuff," McAdams told PEOPLE in 2023. "That's never going to go away."
"I think it's getting better and easier, but there's always that age gap," she continued. "They have no idea what it's like to be you and you're fumbling in the dark. I feel like movies are a really gentle way to spark conversation. I feel like this is one of those and I just wanted to put that out there for her one day."
6. The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) Rachel McAdams movies
Eric Bana stars as Henry de Tamble, a man who possess the ability to spontaneously travel through time. When he meets and falls in love with Claire (Rachel McAdams), the couple must learn to navigate their life together with Henry's unique ability affecting their relationship in unimaginable ways. This touching romantic science fiction films tells a story of love persevering against all odds.
5. The Vow (2012)
Rachel McAdams stars opposite Channing Tatum in The Vow, her second Nicholas Sparks film of her career. The film follows Paige (McAdams), who one night while in the car with her husband Leo (Tatum) unbuckles her seatbelt to kiss him, only for the car to be rear ended, hospitalizing her.
When she awakes from her coma, she suffers from severe memory loss, causing her to forget her husband Leo and important details about her past, such as why she dropped out of law school, why she is estranged from her parents and why she broke things off with her ex-fiancée.
Leo must embark on a journey to win back his wife in this romantic tale of everlasting love.
4. About Time (2013) Rachel McAdams movies
Two time travel themed movies in two years might be a record, but Rachel McAdams can pretty much do whatever she wants and we'd still adore her! When Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) turns 21, his father informs him that the men in their family can travel through time. He eventually meets Mary (McAdams). He uses his gift to facilitate their falling in love and over time, continues to utilize his abilities for the sake of bettering the lives of he and his family and friends. Of course, however, time traveling is never as easy as it seems.
3. Spotlight (2015)
Spotlight tells the story of a group of investigative journalists at The Boston Globe who worked to expose covered-up abuse within the Catholic church. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Rachel McAdams was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as journalist Sacha Pfeiffer.
2. Mean Girls (2004) Rachel McAdams movies
Perhaps one of her most iconic movies, Rachel McAdams stole the show as Regina George in Mean Girls. In this early 2000s classic, Regina leads the popular clique known as "the plastics." A young Lindsay Lohan moves to town as Cady, and soon enough she's entwined in their crew of mean girls — but it isn't long before her and Regina's flimsy friendship starts to crumble and the duo are set on taking down the other.
1. The Notebook (2004)
The Notebook is one of the most classic romance films of all time, which Rachel McAdams starring as Allie Hamilton opposite Ryan Gosling's Noah Calhoun. Allie, a wealthy girl from the city, meets Noah, a humble young lumber mill worker during her summer. The two begin a whirlwind romance, but are quickly torn away from one another by Allie's meddling and judgemental mother. After many years apart with no contact, the two find themselves drawn back to one another in this epic love story for the ages.
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