Rachel McAdams made a surprise appearance at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15.
The actress, 47, was not originally slated to appear, but ultimately joined the very emotional In Memoriam segment to pay tribute especially to the women we lost over the past year, specifically shouting out her fellow Canadian Catherine O'Hara and her former co-star and friend Diane Keaton.
© Getty ImagesRachel choked up while relaying one of the quotes the late Academy Award winner, her co-star from The Family Stone, always relayed from the Girl Scouts: "Make new friends, but keep the old; One is silver, the other is gold."
Rachel's return to the Oscars
The Mean Girls star has eschewed extensive public appearances in recent years, her last set coming from the promotional trail for her film Send Help and her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, both in January.
But compared to her last red carpet appearance, at the Send Help UK premiere, the actress went for an even darker hue to her hair, opting to take her chestnut tresses to a deeper shade of chocolate.
Rachel's hair was styled into a slick top-knot, with a bit of light glam courtesy of her make-up artist and younger sister Kayleen McAdams. For the night, Rachel wore a gold Alberta Ferretti dress, part of the FW2026 Ready-to-Wear collection, a caped gown paired with Sabyasachi jewelry.
The Oscars appearance was actually her first in a full decade. She last attended the Academy Awards back in February of 2016, the 88th, when she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her work in that year's Best Picture winner, Spotlight.
© Getty ImagesIn Memoriam, and the late Diane Keaton
Ahead of receiving her honor on the Walk of Fame, Rachel spoke with Variety about the words on dealing with imposter syndrome she'd taken from the late Annie Hall star. "I remember Diane Keaton saying to me during The Family Stone that she still felt like acting didn't come easily to her."
"I was so surprised by that because she's so effortless and she gives so much to it. But I still don't feel like I have the art of acting figured out."
The In Memoriam section this year in particular was a doozy, paying tribute to some of the industry's most beloved icons in Rob Reiner and Robert Redford. Several former stars of Rob's movies like Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Kathy Bates, Mandy Patinkin, Jerry O'Connell and more joined the tribute.
© Getty ImagesAfter Rachel then spoke about Diane and Catherine, Barbra Streisand appeared for another tear-jerker of a send-off to her friend and The Way We Were co-star Robert, even ending with a surprise performance of its hit title track.
The 98th Academy Awards
Less devastating, however, were the night's big winners. One Battle After Another ended as the big winner of the 98th Oscars, taking home six prizes in total, including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Casting, Editing and Adapted Screenplay.
© Getty ImagesSinners followed with four prizes from 16 nominations, including Best Actor, Cinematography, Original Score and Original Screenplay. Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein was next with three wins, all in the technical categories, sweeping Production Design, Costume Design and Makeup & Hairstyling.
