Actress Rachel McAdams is keeping it real in a series of new photos taken for Bustle. The celebrity mother of two asked the magazine to refrain from heavily editing her images and even posed with visible armpit hair in order to offer a realistic view of what her body looks like at 44 — what a queen!
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Rachel was there to talk about her new movie.
She appears on the cover of Bustle‘s April issue, which also features an in-depth interview where she talks about everything from Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret to her decision to step away from Hollywood.
In addition to promoting the movie, it seems Rachel really wanted fans to get an unfiltered glimpse into the reality of her life. “With this shoot, I’m wearing latex underwear,” she admitted. “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 doesn't want anyone to strive for unachievable standards.
Plenty of celebrities have been called out for heavily filtering or editing the photos they post online, creating unrealistic goals for the people at home who think they really look that way.
But Rachel is aware of the power of seeing retouched images and wants to avoid becoming part of the problem. “It’s OK to look your best and work at it and be healthy, but that’s different for everyone,” she explained.
Rachel's armpit hair is on full display in several of the photos.
Her armpits seem to be in line with the theme of her new movie, which is a film adaptation of the classic coming-of-age story by author Judy Blume. Because the book deals with the struggles of puberty and growing up, Rachel shared some messages to her younger self in a video clip from the interview, even talking about what she wishes she knew about shaving in what appears to be a nod to her hairy pits.
“Always have shaving cream,” she told her younger self. “And then if you want to stop shaving again one day, that’s okay, too.”
Fan response has mostly been supportive.
People took to the comments section for some of the photos shared by Bustle to celebrate Rachel’s message. Many people called her words “empowering” and talked about how much they appreciate The Notebook star for taking an unabashed stance on beauty standards.
Of course, there were a few people who didn’t like her unshaven look. “Why the armpit hair?” one person asked.
Another critic challenged her decision to go all natural. “Advice to younger self should be to shave your pits,” the person wrote. “Grotesque!”
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We appreciate the real, unpolished look of a busy working mom.
Although Rachel looks stunning in the photos from the shoot, we have to admit that we love the fact that she didn’t go out of her way to appear perfect.
It’s easy to feel like you’ll never live up to the high bar set by your favorite celebrities when all they present is an edited version of their lives. That’s why it’s so refreshing to see a Hollywood A-lister like Rachel take a different approach.
