Why Rachel McAdams Wanted to Show Her Armpit Hair and Body in All Its Glory

Rachel McAdams' latest photoshoot will make you want to raise your hands.

The Mean Girls star recently showed off her armpit hair in an empowering cover story for Bustle, in which she posed in an all-black getup that featured a sexy corset top with wide-leg pants. A bold red lip, diamond-studded earrings and sandal heels were the glamorous finishing touches to the awe-inspiring shoot. 

"I love that juxtaposition of beauty, glam, fantasy, and then truth," the 44-year-old told the outlet in an interview published April 18. "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."

She added, "It's OK to look your best and work at it and be healthy, but that's different for everyone."

Sticking to her guns about offering a realistic representation of her body, Bustle even noted that Rachel requested the images from the photoshoot be edited as minimally as possible.

Additionally, Rachel, who is starring in the upcoming movie adaptation of Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, explained how life has a way of imitating art.

When it came to preparing for her role as Margaret's mom Barb, she was five months postpartum after welcoming her daughter in 2020. Rachel, who is also a mom to a 5-year-old son with Jamie Linden,  "I felt like a milking machine." 

Then, she recalled, the costume designer asked if she would free the nipple as part of her role.

"'Why don't we just try this without a bra?'" Rachell recalled the costume designer telling her. "The great irony is Margaret just can't wait to get into a bra. But I'm playing a kind of wild child, hippie artist mom [who] doesn't wear a bra throughout the whole film."

She continued, "[We] really wanted Barb to feel like a real person who's still figuring herself out, to put Margaret and her on similar trajectories."

If anything Rachel could relate to her character's struggles, revealing that she second-guessed her portrayal of Barb. 

"I was worried some days. 'Is this too much? Is this distracting?'" she shared. "I hated thinking about that. Why do I even care? But it's hard not to!"

But from the looks of her latest photoshoot, it's clear she's not afraid to show a little armpit hair or get things off her chest.