Early life
Bilson was born in Los Angeles, California to a Jewish American father (writer/director/producer Danny Bilson) and a Philadelphia-born Italian American mother, Janice Stango, who is a sex therapist. Her father comes from a showbusiness family, as her great-grandfather, George Bilson, was the head of the trailer department at RKO Pictures, while her great-grandmother, Hattie, was a screenwriter and her grandfather, Bruce Bilson, is a film director. Bilson's parents divorced during her childhood, and in 1997, her father remarried Heather Medway, an actress and the mother of Bilson's half sister Hattie (born December 19, 2001).
Bilson has been noted as having a "self-destructive, rebellious period" during her teen years.[6] When she was thirteen, she and a group of her brother's friends[7] were involved in a car accident, a head-on collision with another car. As a result, Bilson was unconscious for a few days, had a scar above her right eye, and sometimes suffers from migraines and memory loss;[8] she has stated that the experience "changed" her,[7] encouraging her to "stop... getting into trouble" and stopping her from "going down that road".[7] Bilson graduated from Walter Reed Middle School in 1996 and from Notre Dame High School in 1999. During her time at Notre Dame, she appeared in productions of Bye Bye Birdie, Once Upon a Mattress and The Crucible, and appeared on stage together with Katharine McPhee, who attended the same school and would later be a finalist on American Idol.[9]
Career
Bilson attended Grossmont College in San Diego, but dropped out after one year,[10] taking her father's advice to pursue a professional acting career and making several appearances in commercials, including advertisements for Raisin Bran and Pepto-Bismol. She made her screen acting debut in early 2003, appearing in episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, and in the short film, Unbroken. Bilson was subsequently cast in The O.C., which debuted in August of 2003. Her character, Summer Roberts, was initially intended to appear in only a few episodes, but became a series regular after a successful run, as Bilson's on-screen romance with Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) became a noted aspect of the series.[10]
Bilson with Adam Brody on The O.C.
As a result of the success of The O.C., Bilson has become well-known among teenage audiences. At the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, Bilson collected three awards - "Choice Hottie Female", "Choice TV Actress (Drama)" and "Best Onscreen TV Chemistry" (jointly won with Adam Brody).[11] In 2005, Maxim magazine named her sixth in their annual "Hot 100 List";[12] in 2006, the publication awarded her #14.[13] The UK edition of FHM Magazine named her 28th in the 2006 100 Sexiest Women in the World list,[14] while the US Edition Ranked her 77th in 2005.[15] Bilson was also named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2006 People magazine.[16]
Bilson's first film role was in The Last Kiss, a romantic comedy/drama also starring Zach Braff and Jacinda Barrett. In the film, which opened on September 15, 2006, Bilson plays a college student who seduces Braff's character. Bilson had long wanted to work with Braff, having admired the film Garden State, which he directed and starred in.[17] A body double was used for the film's sexual scene between Bilson and Braff's characters, as Bilson specified that she "feel[s] really strong[ly]" about not appearing in a nude scene.[18] One review of the film noted that Bilson played the role with "surprising depth",[19] although another critic described her role as "Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction as an airhead valley girl with a hot bod".[20]
Bilson has stated that she prefers acting in feature films to appearing on television, and that she would like the kind of roles "that Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson are offered".[10] She has specified that though she is "grateful" for the success of The O.C.,[21] she feels that the show "is over" and that she is "ready to move on" to film roles.[22] In September of 2006, unconfirmed reports surfaced that Bilson was linked to star in a film version of the comic book character Wonder Woman;[23] Bilson has stated that these reports were untrue.[24] These reports spawned solely from a Wonder Woman costume she wore in an episode of the The O.C.
In late 2006, Bilson was cast in the role of Millie in Doug Liman's thriller Jumper, as the replacement for actress Teresa Palmer; Bilson began filming the role in October of that year.[25] The film is scheduled for a February 2008 release.
Bilson was also featured on Stuffmagazine.com
Personal life
Bilson began dating her The O.C. co-star, Adam Brody, in 2003. In 2005, Brody gave Bilson a pit bull, Penny Lane, as a birthday present. The couple later adopted another dog, Thurmen Murmen. The two split in November 2006.
Rachel has been recognized by several media sources as being a "fashion junkie"[26][27][28] She has described herself as having a "vintage" sense of style, and noted Kate Moss and Diane Keaton as inspirations.[28] Bilson enjoys watching television game shows, especially Jeopardy!, and has stated that if she were not acting, she would be a pre-school teacher.[28] Her favorite designers are, Stella McCartney and Chanel.
Bilson has turned down requests to appear semi-nude in magazines, specifying that she feels that her body "is sacred" and "not there for the whole world to see".[29]
Early life
Rachel McAdams was born in London, Ontario and grew up in nearby St. Thomas. Her father, Lance, is a truck driver, and her mother, Sandra, is a nurse. She has a younger brother, Daniel, and a younger half-sister, Kayleen.
At the age of four, she took up competitive figure skating. She took up acting at age thirteen at a summer theater camp. When the company extended to a year-round company, she was invited to continue with them. She attended Central Elgin Collegiate Institute in St. Thomas from grade nine to OAC and starred in the Award-winning student production I Live in a Little Town. Later she graduated from York University in Toronto with Honours and a BFA degree in Theatre. During her senior year at York, she played a child in The Piper - a workshop led by a creative team from Toronto's Necessary Angel Theatre Company. She also attended Original Kids Theatre Company in London, Ontario, as well as David Rothenberg's on-camera acting class in Toronto with fellow actors Scott Speedman, Kenneth Mitchell, Polly Shannon and David Sutcliffe.
Career
McAdams had a large role in the film The Hot Chick, alongside Rob Schneider, but her career really took off when she starred as Regina George, the "queen-bee" in 2004's Mean Girls. McAdams was told to partly model the character of Regina George after Alec Baldwin's performance in Glengarry Glen Ross (1992).
McAdams had previously appeared in the Canadian television series Slings and Arrows, alongside Paul Gross. She played a main role in the first season, but due to her rising stardom was written out of the second season, appearing in only the first episode.
She followed Mean Girls with the film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel The Notebook, alongside Ryan Gosling, with whom she would later begin an off-screen romance.
In 2005, she played Owen Wilson's love interest in Wedding Crashers and then starred in the suspense thriller Red Eye as Lisa Reisert. She played a young woman held captive aboard a red-eye flight by criminal-for-hire and assassin Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy). Her most recent role was in the comedy The Family Stone where she starred in an ensemble cast alongside Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Brian J. White and Claire Danes.
Rachel's career slowed down in 2006. She was originally signed on as the female lead in The Last Kiss but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, and the role was given to Jacinda Barrett. McAdams was anxious to sign on to a script which was "creative" and "different". It was said that Rachel turned down Anne Hathaway's role in The Devil Wears Prada as well as the bond girl "Vesper Lynd" in the much anticipated Bond film Casino Royale, both were box-office smash hits. McAdams eventually returned to acting to do the independent-drama Married Life(which has a limited release date set for November 9, 2007).
Rachel was also rumored to be set to star as the love interest in Iron Man and Katie Holmes's replacement in The Dark Knight as well as playing the role of sexy, femme fatale Agent 99 in Get Smart. However, McAdams stated in an interview in May 2006 that she had no interest to do a big-budget super-hero/action adaptation because of various reasons one including that she had never really taken interest in a film of that sort and that she wanted to sign on to a film mainly because she wanted to do it, not because the salary was high. It was later confirmed that she was offered all three of the roles but politely turned them down. The roles were later taken over by Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway, and the role of "Rachel Dawes" is rumored to have Maggie Gyllenhaal play the part.
Despite having appeared nude and/or topless in few of her movie scenes, McAdams abruptly opted out of a cover shoot for Vanity Fair alongside two other young Hollywood actresses Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley, upon finding out it was to be nude. Tom Ford, artistic director for the cover, instead appeared with them. When McAdams appeared on set and discovered it was nude, she politely declined, according to Knightley.
According to Elle magazine, she turned down parts in Mission: Impossible III and Casino Royale, as well the role that went to Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada.
Personal life
McAdams currently lives in Toronto. She is a former vegetarian, and is currently dating her The Notebook co-star Ryan Gosling. Both were born in St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario.
It has been stated for a long time, that Rachel was born on October 7, 1976, which would make her 30 years of age, but her mother came out in early 2007, and said, that Rachel wasn’t born on October 7, 1976, but on October 7, 1978, which makes her 28, not 30.
Awards and achievements
McAdams received popular acclaim for both roles and was honoured for her work, most recently a record number of five nominations and three wins at the MTV Movie Awards in 2005. McAdams beat competition including Beyonce Knowles, Jessica Alba, and Jessica Simpson. She was named #14 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list and #17 in the 2006 Hot 100issue. In December 2005, she was #1 on MuchMusic's "Who To Do: 20 Sexiest Girls" list. McAdams was also voted the #10 on FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005.
McAdams was nominated for a Genie Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Academy Award, for her role in Perfect Pie. She was also nominated for the BAFTA's Orange Rising Star award which acknowledges the new talents in the acting industry. The award went to James McAvoy.
She hosted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences's 2006 Scientific and Technical Awards. McAdams received a Civic Award for her contribution to culture from the city of St. Thomas in 2006.
After a successful audition Stevens became a member of the British pop group "S Club 7", selling sixteen million records worldwide four number one hit singles in the United Kingdom. The group was disbanded in 2003 for reasons undisclosed. Stevens became the first member of the band to sign a multi-million dollar recording contract and released her first solo single, "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", in late 2003, reaching number two on the UK singles chart. Her first album reached number nine on the UK albums chart and quickly disappeared.
Stevens' follow-up single "Funky Dory" also failed to gain much attention and charted at number 26. Critics began to write her off as a one-hit wonder until she came back with the song "Some Girls" (2004) which quickly became a hit in the UK, peaking at number two. This was later followed by the October release of the widely successful single "More, More, More" which acted as a close on her debut album. Stevens would then return to music in March 2005 with the single "Negotiate with Love", which appeared on her 2005 sophomore album "Come And Get It" Along with "Some Girls". The single "Negotiate With Love" became Stevens fourth Top Ten hit and was followed by "So Good", which reached number 10, and "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)", which made number 12. "Come And Get It" failed to perform well in the charts, becoming a commercial failure even though it was praised by the pop music press and other outlets, such as The New York Times.
Early life
Stevens was born in Southgate, London of Jewish heritage. She attended Ashmole School in Southgate, London.
From a very early age, Stevens was drawn to entertaining people. At the age of five she began taking acting lessons at a drama school near London, but as time went on she seemed to be more interested in fashion than acting. At the age of fifteen her first big break when she beat out 5000 competitors in a modelling competition sponsored by Just 17 Magazine. Following her first modelling jobs Stevens attended the London School of Fashion and after graduation worked in fashion PR, but began to lose interest and started to seek out a career in music instead.
Then, at the age of twenty, Stevens accompanied her brother to an audition in London for a new pop group, which was being put together by Simon Fuller, the one-time manager of the Spice Girls. While waiting for her brother to audition, she was approached by the judges. After many calls and auditions she was chosen as a member of the new band S Club 7, along with Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, and Hannah Spearritt.
S Club 7
For more information: S Club 7
Stevens and "S Club 7" quickly rose to fame, with their debut single "Bring It All Back" reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart in June 1999. The groups follow-up, "S Club Party" was also a hit, the groups self-titled debut album also sold well. The success of their debut album landed the band their own TV show, S Club 7 in Miami. Minor success in the United States followed. Stevens probably enjoyed more success than the rest of the band members, as she received the most media attention and was a fan favorite. Despite the negative press the male members of the group had been receiving, Stevens was not affected by it and in 2000 was voted the second sexiest woman on the planet by the men's magazine FHM. Around 2002 to 2003, Jo the lead singer had serious back problems for a number of weeks. Rachel took over the role of the lead vocals during this period.
The group was able to release a successful film in 2003 called S Club Seeing Double but after a UK tour, the members of "S Club 7" commenced to break up.
Solo career
Funky Dory
After "S Club 7" broke up, Stevens signed a £1.5 million solo four-album deal with Polydor Records and re-signed with "S Club 7" manager, Simon Fuller. Breaking out on her own after success with "S Club 7" was hard for Stevens, "I think we ended up conforming to what people's perceptions was," she said about the group. "This one was the ditzy one, this one was the singer, this one was the dancer. And to come out of that and be a whole person has been a real challenge for me. I didn't have my say, really, in the group. None of us did." Stevens was the first member from the group to sign a solo recording contract and expectations were high for her first release to be a success.
Her first solo single, written by Cathy Dennis (who has also written for Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue) and produced by Bloodshy & Avant, was "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", released in September 2003. The single was a hit, debuting at number two on the UK singles chart, beaten to the top spot by the Black Eyed Peas and their international hit single "Where Is The Love?. The single was also a hit worldwide peaking in the top ten in multiple countries including Ireland and Sweden.
Taking inspiration from R&B music most reminiscent of TLC and Sugababes, and adult-style pop music by Madonna, Stevens' debut solo album, Funky Dory was released later that month. The album was a minor hit, reaching number nine on the UK albums chart and quickly fading away in subsequent weeks almost without a trace. Although the album was not a huge commercial success it did gain praise from pop-critics. Jamie Gill, in a review for Yahoo! Launch, said that Stevens "eschews the cheap and cheerful approach of her old band for a slinky adult confidence and musical eclecticism."
That December, the album's title track, "Funky Dory" was released as the second single. The song was hailed as being sophisticated and sexy, like its predecessor, and featured a sample of the David Bowie song "Andy Warhol" from his album Hunky Dory.
Hopes were high that the single would be able to match the success of "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", but like her album the single made a low showing on the charts, peaking at number twenty six and then quickly disappearing. The song was given mixed reviews by pop-critics with some calling it "musically better than "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" with a hybrid of pop, Latin and even a hint of jazz infusion" but not a good choice as a single as it lacked anything special and different, as it did not live up to Stevens' previous single.
In July 2004, Stevens released a brand new single, "Some Girls" which was produced by Richard X. After the commercial failure of both her album and previous single hopes were high for "Some Girls" to perform well on the charts, with critics calling the single her career make or break release. The single became a hit across Europe, and reached number two in the UK. All profits from the single went to the BBC Sport Relief charity. On its release HMV.co.uk called the single Stevens' "finest song to date"[6], and Yahoo! Launch commented "she came to save her career. She ended up saving pop."[7]
Due to the success of "Some Girls", Funky Dory was re-released to include "Some Girls" and another new track, a cover of Andrea True Connection's "More More More". At this point, Rachel stepped up promotion, inadvertently earning herself a Guinness World Record for “Most Public Appearances by a Pop Star in 24 Hours in Different Cities” (Seven on September 8-9, 2004).
On its single release, "More More More" peaked at number three in the UK, giving Stevens her third top ten solo single in the UK. The song was not well received by critics who called the vocals on the song weak and the fact that the song is a cover uninspiring. Stevens herself has stated that she dislikes the song. Nevertheless, the song was a hit and due to the re-release of the album, Funky Dory has sold close to 200,000 copies in the UK to date and was a minor success.[8]
That November, Stevens was nominated for seven awards at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. She took home two awards, Most Fanciable Female and Best Dressed Star.
In late 2004, Stevens began working on her second solo album with producers and songwriters Richard X, Alexis Strum and Xenomania. The following March she released the first single from her upcoming album, "Negotiate With Love". The song was a minor hit in the UK, reaching the top ten and received good reviews by critics for its mature and confident sound.
She sang on the Band Aid 20 single despite not being invited having turned up to the recording with Will Young who was.
"Negotiate with Love" was followed-up by the song "So Good", which was released in July and was another success when it peaked at number ten in the UK. It was hailed as a good pop song that was "tastily produced and sassily delivered."[9]
The singles were followed by Stevens' second full-length studio album, Come And Get It in October 2005. The album was, like her previous effort, a minor success peaking at number twenty-eight in the UK. Come And Get It sold only 18,000 copies in Britain in its first 3 months, and has been deemed a commercial failure, even though the British pop magazines hailed it as a great pop album. The album was also released as a special 'Limited Edition' CD and DVD, which subsequently became a highly-priced item at online auction sites like Ebay.com
The last single released from the album was "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)", released in October 2005 the song peaked at number twelve in the UK. The single received some of the best reviews of Stevens' career with it being hailed by HMV.co.uk for its "astonishingly flawless vocal performance" and as Stevens' "most commercially accessible and quirky single since "Some Girls"."[10]
Due to the low charting of the album and its singles no further singles were released, although multiple rumors stated that "Nothing Good About This Goodbye" and the Richard X produced "Crazy Boys" were going to be released as singles. In early January 2006, rumors surfaced that Stevens was to be dropped from Polydor Records. However, a statement was released by the Polydor executives stating that she is still with Polydor.
Just before the release of Come And Get It, Stevens was featured in a documentary, Rachel: My World which was shown on Channel 4's teenage strand T4, with cameras following Stevens around for the summer, at road shows, recording her album, and doing more humble things such as eating out, and going to the gym.
Future In Music
After the release of her sophomore album, Stevens generally removed herself from the spotlight. Meanwhile, multiple online rumors were spread over 2006/early 2007 about her next career move. While some speculate her constant trips to L.A. in 2006 to signify an attempt in acting, a "reliable" source (the Buzzjack.com Forums) currently has Stevens on the "Coming Soon" list of releases, with new material slated for August 2007
Acting career
While Rachel was a member of S Club 7, she appeared in all S Club 7 associated series such as Miami 7, LA 7, Hollywood 7 and Viva S Club and also the S Club 7 feature film, entitled Seeing Double.
Rachel also appeared in a movie entitled Suzie Gold and appeared in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, and is rumored to have appeared in the upcoming untitled Pink Panther movie!
Stevens spent the first few months of 2006 in Los Angeles in preparation for launching an acting career, and has spent much of her time there ever since. According to Stevens, she is working with the William Morris Agency, one of the largest acting agencies in the world and she has been seen visiting the same acting class that Brad Pitt used to attend. Rumours suggest that Stevens was offered the role of a receptionist in the Steve Miner directed remake of George A. Romero's "Day of the Dead," which is to be released in September of 2007 in the U.S; and the script for a role in a new American horror film directed by Alexandre Aja called "Devil's Road."
On her return from Los Ageles to London in March 2007 on a Virgin Atlantic flight, Stevens was disapointed not to recieve a first class upgrade, uttering the imortal words: "Don't you know who I am?"
Personal life
On Valentine's Day in 2002, Stevens made headline when she became e gaged to her longtime boyfriend, actor Jeremy Edwards. The engagement would not last long, though. The couple broke up in early 2004 after they had been dating for over three years.[11] Stevens made headlines in March 2004 when she was ditched by her rumoured boyfriend, businessman Simon Brodin. The couple were rumoured to have dated for two months after Stevens broke-up with Edwards. The relationship was never confirmed by either side.[12] Six months later Stevens again was in the tabloids as she started dating Gavin Dein, son of Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, the relationship would not last long with the couple splitting up in August 2005.[13] Since then she has been linked to Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg after taking interest in him because she wanted him to star as her boyfriend in an upcoming music video. Stevens' commented on the rumours by telling Neil Sean of Sky Showbiz Gossip, "It's all top secret but my dream is to have the lovely Freddie in the video for the song as my boyfriend. I'd like that in real life too, but I’ll start with the video." She has also been spotted recently in LA in February 2006 with a mystery man who claimed to be her new boyfriend, but it has neither been confirmed nor denied.[14] She has also been spotted with a mystery man in Barbados in the last week of April 2006. [15] The April 30, 2006 issue of The Daily Star and The News of the World claim their relationship has grown romantically and she is surely smitten with Ed Thomas. The People also reported a similar story as did The Daily Record who quote an onlooker as saying they look very much in love. [16] She was also spotted in LA with American actor Stephen Dorff, but they were quoted as saying they were just friends. [17] She was also spotted with American-based British singer Oli Trevena (Oli T) who she is rumoured to be dating and the Daily Mirror claimed he was taking her to meet his parents. She herself claims that, for now, she enjoys the single life and "loves flirting with strangers.".
Awareness campaigns
Although 2005 did not bring the commercial success of earlier years, Stevens made headlines when she followed in the footsteps of fellow British pop star Robbie Williams to front the Everyman Testicular Cancer Awareness campaign. Stevens's role was notable as she was the first woman to represent this campaign. Her television commercial raised eyebrows with its suggestive content that included her telling men to "put one hand down their trousers and give their testicles a good feel". On the commercial, Stevens commented, "Sometimes men need a little encouragement to think about their health. This is a funny way of raising awareness about a serious subject." [18]
In 2005 Stevens also took part in the Make Poverty History campaign, which aims to eliminate poverty in third-world countries by supplying aid to them through food, money, and other resources that these countries do not have. Stevens donated an undisclosed amount of money to the campaign, and also starred in television and magazine advertisements supporting the cause. Her official Web site also displayed the campaign's official online banner. [19]
