Rachel

Rachel (Hebrew: רָחֵל, Modern Rakhél, Tiberian Rāḥēl) (Arabic: راحيل‎) was the favorite of Biblical patriarch Jacob's two wives as well as the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. The name "Rachel" is from an unused root meaning: "to journey as a ewe that is a good traveller." Rachel was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife. Rachel was a niece of Rebekah (Jacob's mother), Laban being Rebekah's brother, making Jacob her first cousin.

Marriage to Jacob

Rachel is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 29 when Jacob happens upon her as she is about to water her father's flock. She was the second daughter of Laban, Rebekah’s brother. Jacob had traveled a great distance to find Laban. Rebekah had sent him there to be safe from his furious twin brother, Esau.

During Jacob's stay, Jacob fell in love with Rachel and agreed to work seven years for Laban in return for her hand in marriage. On the night of the wedding, the bride was veiled and Jacob did not notice that Leah, Rachel's older sister, had been substituted for Rachel. Whereas "Rachel was lovely in form and beautiful," "Leah had tender eyes". Later Jacob confronted Laban, who excused his own deception by insisting that the older sister should marry first. He assured Jacob that after his wedding week was finished, he could take Rachel as a wife as well, and work another seven years as payment for her. When God “saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb”, (Gen 29:31) and she gave birth to four sons.

Rachel Weisz

Rachel Hannah Weisz (/ˈvaɪs/ VYS; born 7 March 1970) is an English film and theatre actress as well as a former fashion model who holds both British and American citizenship.

Weisz began her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in the early 1990s, then started working in television, appearing in the detective drama Inspector Morse, the British mini-series Scarlet and Black and the television film Advocates II. She made her film debut in the science fiction movie Death Machine (1994). Her first Hollywood appearance came in the action film Chain Reaction (1996), opposite Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman.

Next, she appeared as Evelyn Carnahan-O'Connell in the adventure films The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001). Other notable films featuring Weisz are the war film Enemy at the Gates (2001), opposite Jude Law; the comedy-drama About a Boy (2002), opposite Hugh Grant; the supernatural action-thriller Constantine (2005), pairing her once again with Keanu Reeves; and in the Darren Aronofsky-directed romantic drama The Fountain, opposite Hugh Jackman. For her supporting role in the drama thriller The Constant Gardener (2005), opposite Ralph Fiennes, she received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors' Guild award. In 2006, Weisz received the BAFTA Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year. She played the Wicked Witch of the East, Evanora, in the fantasy adventure Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). In 2015, she appeared in two films that played at the Cannes Film Festival, Youth and The Lobster.

Rachel McAdams

Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a four-year theatre program at York University in 2001, she initially worked in Canadian television and film productions such as the drama film Perfect Pie (2002) (for which she received a Genie Award nomination), the comedy film My Name Is Tanino (2002), and the comedy mini-series Slings and Arrows (for which she won a Gemini Award). In 2002, she made her Hollywood film debut in the comedy The Hot Chick. McAdams found fame in 2004, with the character of Regina George in the comedy Mean Girls and with her performance in the romantic drama The Notebook. In 2005, she starred in the romantic comedy Wedding Crashers, the psychological thriller Red Eye, and the family comedy-drama The Family Stone. She was hailed by the media as Hollywood's new "it girl", and received a BAFTA nomination for Best Rising Star.

After a two-year career break, McAdams appeared in two limited release films in 2008; the film noir Married Life and the road trip comedy-drama The Lucky Ones. She returned to prominence in 2009 by appearing in the political thriller State of Play, the science-fiction romantic drama The Time Traveler's Wife and the mystery/action-adventure film Sherlock Holmes. In 2010, McAdams appeared in her first star vehicle, the comedy Morning Glory. In 2011, she starred in Woody Allen's romantic comedy Midnight in Paris and reprised her role in the mystery/action-adventure sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. She next starred in the romantic drama The Vow (2012), and shortly after starred in the romantic comedy About Time. In 2015, she starred as Ani Bezzerides in season two of HBO's anthology crime drama True Detective, and as Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sacha Pfeiffer in Spotlight. For her performance in Spotlight, she received nominations for the SAG Award, Critics' Choice Award, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.