Tuesday, 13 September 2011

Christina Hendricks

Christina Rene Hendricks, born May 3, 1975 is an American actress known for her role as Joan Holloway in the AMC cable television series Mad Men, and as Saffron in Fox's short-lived series Firefly. Hendricks was named "the sexiest woman in the world" in 2010 in a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine.




Career


Hendricks has made a number of guest television appearances, starting as a regular in the series Beggars and Choosers. Since then, she has starred in the series The Big Time and The Court, opposite Sally Field and Craig Bierko, as well as the legal drama Kevin Hill. She has also had recurring roles in ER and Firefly and guest-starred in episodes of Angel, Miss Match, Tru Calling, Presidio Med, Without a Trace, and Las Vegas. Hendricks starred opposite Kip Pardue in South of Pico. La Cucina, an award-winning indie film, premiered on Showtime in December 2009 and stars Hendricks as a sexy writer opposite Joaquim de Almeida. She has appeared in four episodes of the NBC TV show Life in the recurring role of Olivia, detective Charlie Crews' soon-to-be stepmother and Ted Earley's love interest. She also starred in music videos for "The Ghost Inside" by Broken Bells, and Everclear's "One Hit Wonder".
Her best-known role is that of Joan Holloway on the award-winning AMC series Mad Men. Hendricks' character is the office manager of advertising agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP), providing mentoring to a group of women who must deal with the come-ons and callousness of professional advertising executives.
She is set to appear in a new action-thriller directed by Nicolas Winding Refn called Drive alongside Carey Mulligan and Ryan Gosling.



Personal life


Hendricks at the premiere of Serenity, September 22, 2005
Hendricks is a natural blonde and began coloring her hair red at the age of ten. She began acting in children's musical theater productions in Twin Falls, Idaho. On October 11, 2009, Hendricks married actor Geoffrey Arend.





Cultural influence


Hendricks, who in July 2010 was a U.K. size 14, has received considerable positive attention due to her voluptuous figure. She has been credited as a role model for full-figured women and was nicknamed the "sexiest woman in the world" in 2010 in a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine.
British Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone praised Hendricks' hourglass figure as an ideal shape for women, saying "Christina Hendricks is absolutely fabulous... We need more of these role models. There is such a sensation when there is a curvy role model. It shouldn't be so unusual. Hendricks commented in September 2010 that the media is too focused on women's bodies and not their actual talents, "I was working my butt off on the show [Mad Men] and then all anyone was talking about was my body. A study by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons attributed a 10% rise in 2010 of the number of British women receiving breast augmentation surgery in part to Hendricks' influence.
Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara says her portrayal of Joan Holloway has revolutionized perceptions of beauty on television. She has been called the "new modern ideal of Hollywood glamour—full figured, voluptuous; a throwback to the days of Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell and Veronica Lake. British designer Vivienne Westwood selected her to represent its "Get A Life" Palladium jewelry collection in March 2011. Westwood described Hendricks as "the embodiment of beauty."




Awards and nominations


Won the 2006 SyFy Genre Awards for Best Special Guest/Television for the Firefly episode "Trash".
Nominated for the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Mad Men (2007) shared with Bryan Batt, Anne Dudek, Michael Gladis, Jon Hamm, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Robert Morse, Elisabeth Moss, Maggie Siff, John Slattery, Rich Sommer and Aaron Staton.
Won for the 2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Mad Men (2008)
Won the 2009 Best Actress—Drama Series for Mad Men at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival
Voted Best Looking American Woman by Esquire magazine in 2010.
Nominated for the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Mad Men.
Tied with Margo Martindale for the Critics' Choice Television award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Nominated for the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Mad Men.




Filmography


1999 Sorority Fawn
1999 Undressed Rhiannon TV series
2000 Angel Bar Maid Episode: "The Prodigal"
2000–2001 Beggars and Choosers Kelly Kramer 19 episodes
2001 Thieves Sunday Episode: "Casino"
2002 ER Joyce Westlake 4 episodes
2002 The Court Betsy Tyler TV series
2002 The Big Time Audrey Drummond TV movie
2002 Firefly Saffron Episode: "Our Mrs. Reynolds"
2003 Firefly Saffron / Bridget / Yolanda Episode: "Trash"
2003 Miss Match Sarah Episode: "The Price of Love"
2003 Hunger Point Frannie Hunter TV movie
2003 Presidio Med Claire Episode: "Suffer Unto Me the Children..."
2004 Tru Calling Alyssa Episode: "Murder in the Morgue"
2004–2005 Kevin Hill Nicolette Raye 22 episodes
2005 Cold Case Esther 'Legs' Davis Episode: "Colors"
2006 Jake in Progress Tanya 3 episodes
2006 Las Vegas Connie Episode: "Chaos Theory"
2006 Without a Trace Rachel Gibson Episode: "Check Your Head"
2007 La Cucina Lily
2007 South of Pico Angela
2007 Notes from the Underbelly Holly Episode: "First Night Out"
2007–2008 Life Olivia Canton 4 episodes
2007–present Mad Men Joan Holloway 52+ episodes
2010 The Family Tree Alicia
2010 Leonie Catherine
2010 Life as We Know It Alison Novack
2011 Body of Proof Karen Archer Episode: "Dead Man Walking"
2011 All-Star Superman Lois Lane (voice) Animated Film
2011 Detachment Ms. Madison Post-production
2011 Drive Blanche Post-production
2011 I Don't Know How She Does It Allison Post-production
2011 American Dad Naydern Animated Series and 2 episodes
2012 Struck By Lightning April

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