Rachel McAdams Shows Off Her Armpit Hair In Photo Shoot & Challenges Beauty Standards

Apr 25, 2023

Rachel McAdams is one of the biggest names in Hollywood. She has acted in a variety of roles, with some of her most notable being her parts in “The Notebook,” “Mean Girls” and “Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.” McAdams is known for being one of the sweetest actresses in Hollywood, contrary to some of the roles she has played in movies over the years.

McAdams was born Nov. 17, 1978, in London, Ontario, Canada. By the age of 7, she had already expressed interest in performing and attended Disney and Shakespeare summer camps to help further her interest. McAdams took acting seriously and graduated from York University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts honors degree in the theater program.

Soon after, McAdams landed her first official role in the entertainment industry, and she continued to land some small roles for the next few years until she made her big break in 2004 with the now-classic comedy film “Mean Girls.” Her career skyrocketed following the success of the movie, and she starred in the romantic movie “The Notebook.” These breakthrough roles helped McAdams become well-known all over the world.

Since then, McAdams has been nominated for and has even won a handful of awards for all her work in the television and film industry. She is still working hard in the entertainment industry. Along with giving her fans amazing content to watch, she has also shared some advice. In April 2023, the actress defied conventional beauty standards by posing with her armpit hair exposed and shared her thoughts on owning her body and her beauty.

McAdams has been dating screenwriter Jamie Linden since 2016. He is most famous for his work on “We Are Marshall” and “Dear John.” Together they have one son, who was born in 2018 and a daughter, who was born a few years later.

Along with being a doting partner and mother, McAdams is still an incredibly busy actress. While there’s no doubt people recognize the actress from her roles in “Mean Girls” and “The Notebook,” she has continued to thrive on the big screen in recent years. She starred in “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga” in 2020 and also appeared in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” in 2022.

In 2023, McAdams worked as one of the key figures in the film “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.” While promoting the film, McAdams did an interview with Bustle in April 2023 and talked about some important life lessons she’s learned over the years. She also gave her take on beauty standards, sharing advice with her younger self and anyone who needed to hear her thoughtful words.

Bustle reported that McAdams has taken breaks from Hollywood over the years, meaning that anytime she puts out a new show or film, fans engage with the content to the fullest extent. McAdams has shown a tendency to hold firm boundaries and not do anything that she isn’t comfortable with. 

For example, Bustle reported that she was not a part of the 2006 Vanity Fair cover shoot that included other actresses posing nude. McAdams walked off the set and later moved back to Canada, turning down roles in famous films like “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Iron Man.”

“I felt guilty for not capitalizing on the opportunity that I was being given, because I knew I was in such a lucky spot. But I also knew it wasn't quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane,” McAdams admitted.

She added, “There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that? It’s taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing.”

Bustle shared that McAdams made waves back in 2017 by wearing a breast pump. “I love that juxtaposition of beauty, glam, fantasy, and then truth,” McAdams said. The 44-year-old even requested that her photos with Bustle be edited minimally.

The actress shared:

“With this shoot, I’m wearing latex underwear. But I’ve had two children. This is my body, and I think that's so important to reflect back out to the world.”

McAdams continued:

“It’s OK to look your best and work at it and be healthy, but that’s different for everyone.”

Looking back at her career – and her life in general – McAdams gave her past self some encouraging words. After posing with her armpit hair exposed, she also gave some important beauty advice regarding shaving:

"I’m going to give you the advice (my mother) gave me: ‘Once you start, you can never stop. But if you’re going to go ahead with it anyway, watch the ankle bones, the shins. Always have shaving cream. If you want to stop shaving again one day, that’s OK too."

Fans were thrilled with McAdams’ stance. One person commented, “Love her! Such a great role model ❤️.” Another person added, “What makes her such a real artist to me is that she seems like a real person.”

What do you think about Rachel McAdams’ choice to pose with her armpit hair exposed? What conventional beauty standards do you disagree with? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your loved ones!