Rachel McAdams has offered insight into her decision to stop shaving her armpit hair after showing off her natural look in a new interview shoot.
The star showed off her armpit hair in a raw and minimally edited photo shoot, and in the accompanying video interview for Bustle, the 44-year-old mused on her relationship with body hair removal.
Sharing words of wisdom with her pre-teen self, the Notebook star revealed her advice for when a youngster wants to start shaving.
“This is the advice my mom gave me: ‘Once you start, you can never stop,” she began. “I remember rolling my eyes at that and thinking, ‘Ugh, that’s not a nice answer.’ But it’s so true, life is long and shaving is intense.’
Go for it: Rachel McAdams has shown her support for those who decide to stop shaving armpit hair after showing off her own hair in a new photoshoot
Revealing: The 44-year-old chose to celebrate her body in an unedited photoshoot featuring her armpit hair
She continued, “But if you do go ahead, pay attention to the ankles and shin.”
Rachel recalled her first shaving experience when she added, “You go to bible camp and think it’s okay to shave without shaving cream, and it gets awful.” Always have shaving cream available.’
The About Time star then made it clear she supported those who didn’t want to remove their body hair, adding, “And if you want to stop shaving again one day, that’s fine too.”
The Mean Girls actress made headlines with her new shoot as she celebrated her body and emphasized her natural beauty by requesting minimal edits to the images.
Her armpit hair was seen in an instant as she lounged on a plush sofa, while it was also visible in another shot of Rachel posing in a sleeveless white dress.
Rachel, who shares a son and daughter with her partner Jamie Linden, told Bustle, “I’m wearing latex underwear on this shoot. But I have had two children. This is my body, and I think that’s so important to reflect back to the world.”
“It’s fine to look your best and work for it and be healthy, but that’s different for everyone,” she added.
The Game Night star is currently promoting her upcoming movie Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, a movie adaptation of the wildly popular book by Judy Blume.
Listen up: The Mean Girls star shared words of wisdom with her pre-teen self in a video accompanying the new interview recording
“This Is My Body”: According to the article, minimal editing was done to the photos at Rachel’s own request
In her lengthy interview with Bustle, Rachel admitted that she still felt “guilty” about taking a two-year break from Hollywood, at the height of her career in the mid-2010s, to “stay sane.”
While reflecting on her shocking decision to turn down starring roles in The Devil Wears Prada, Casino Royale, Mission: Impossible III, Iron Man, and Get Smart, the actress revealed that her hiatus left her wondering if she was “throwing it all.”
“I felt guilty for not taking the opportunity I was given because I knew I was in such a lucky place,” she confessed. “But I also knew it didn’t quite match my personality and what I needed to stay healthy.”
Despite occasionally regretting not taking on a role, the Academy Award nominee said she always took a step back and thought, “That was the right person for it.”
Looking back, the star recalled a number of teenage experiences in the video
Back in action: In her lengthy interview with Bustle, Rachel admitted she still felt ‘guilty’ about taking a two-year break from Hollywood
During her brief hiatus from acting, the mother-of-two said she initially didn’t know “why” she was taking time off.
“It took me years to understand what I was doing intuitively,” Rachel explained to Bustle, nodding to prioritize her mental health as she struggled to navigate fame at a young age.
She continued: I think I always felt like I was going to be okay; it will be fine or not.’
In the end, she credits her acting breaks over the years for “really” helping her “feel stronger.”
“It made me feel like I was taking back some control. And I think that allowed me to get in through another door,” she added.
Staying true to herself: The break came at the height of her career in the mid-2010s, and the star revealed she has no regrets about the decision
Coming Soon: Rachel is currently promoting her upcoming movie Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, a movie adaptation of the wildly popular book by Judy Blume
Later, the artist stated that her roles in Mean Girls, The Notebook, and Wedding Crashers made her feel like an “overnight” sensation.
The transition from a recent York University graduate, who worked at a McDonald’s for three years, to an A-lister was shocking.
‘You don’t go to theater school to learn how to deal with that. There’s no book on how to deal with that,” she said, referring to public acknowledgment and having fans ask for selfies.