Christina Hendricks Biography

Christina Rene Hendricks (born May 3, 1975) is an American actress. Most known for her role as Joan Harris on the AMC television series Mad Men and as Saffron on the FOX series Firefly. She has been nominated for four Emmy Awards for her work on Mad Men. A poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine named Hendricks "the sexiest woman in the world". In 2010, she was voted Best Looking American Woman by Esquire magazine.

Early life

Hendricks was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her mother, Jackie Sue (née Raymond), was a psychologist. Her father, Robert Hendricks, who worked for the United States Forest Service, was from Birmingham, England. Through her father, she has dual U.S./U.K. nationality. Her family moved because of her father's profession, living in Fairfax, Virginia; Portland, Oregon; and Twin Falls, Idaho.

Career

Hendricks began acting in children's musical theater productions in Twin Falls. She was a model from the ages of 18 to 27. She 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, which was filmed in Fort Cobb, Oklahoma. 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 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".

She plays Joan Harris on the AMC series Mad Men where Hendricks' character is the office manager of advertising agency Sterling Cooper & Partners, providing mentoring to a group of women who must deal with the come-ons and callousness of professional advertising executives. Her performance has received critical praise, resulting in three Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in A Drama Series, with a fourth nomination currently pending.

She appeared in the action-thriller Drive, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, alongside Carey Mulligan and Ryan Gosling.

Cultural influence

Hendricks has been credited as having an ideal shape for a woman. 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." Los Angeles Times television critic Mary McNamara says her portrayal of Joan 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." 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.

Hendricks has moved away from accepting the term "full-figured" and once lambasted a reporter who angered her by using the term while interviewing her. 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."

Personal life

Hendricks is a natural blonde and began coloring her hair red at the age of 10, inspired by the book Anne of Green Gables. She plays the accordion, and used her talent on an episode of Mad Men.

On October 11, 2009, Hendricks married actor Geoffrey Arend.

Filmography

Film

List of film performances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Sorority	Fawn
2007	La Cucina	Lily
2007	South of Pico	Angela
2010	Leonie	Catherine
2010	Life as We Know It	Alison Novack
2011	'	Alicia
2011	All-Star Superman	Lois Lane	Voice
2011	Detachment	Ms. Sarah Madison
2011	Drive	Blanche
2011	I Don't Know How She Does It	Allison
2012	Ginger & Rosa	Natalie
2013	Struck By Lightning	April
2013	From Up on Poppy Hill	Miki Hokuto	English Dub
2014	How to Catch a Monster	Billy
2014	God's Pocket		Filming

Television

List of television performances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Undressed	Rhiannon	Series regular
2000	Angel	Bar Maid	Episode: "The Prodigal"
2000"2001	Beggars and Choosers	Kelly Kramer	Series regular
2001	Thieves	Sunday	Episode: "Casino"
2002	ER	Joyce Westlake	4 episodes
2002	The Court	Betsy Tyler	Series regular
2002	'	Audrey Drummond	TV film
2002"2003	Firefly	Saffron / Bridget / Yolanda
2003	Miss Match	Sarah	Episode: "The Price of Love"
2003	Hunger Point	Frannie Hunter	TV film
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	Series regular
2005	Cold Case	Esther 'Legs' Davis	Episode: "Colors"
2006	Jake in Progress	Tanya	4 episodes
2006	Las Vegas	Connie	Episode: "Chaos Theory"
2006	Without a Trace	Rachel Gibson	Episode: "Check Your Head"
2007	Notes from the Underbelly	Holly	Episode: "First Night Out"
2007"2008	Life	Olivia Canton	4 episodes
2007"present	Mad Men	Joan Harris	Series regular
2011	Body of Proof	Karen Archer	Episode: "Dead Man Walking"
2011	American Dad!	Naydern	Voice Episode: "Gorillas in the Mist"

Video Games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Need for Speed: The Run	Sam Harper

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Notes
2006	SyFy Genre Awards	Best Special Guest/Television	Firefly (Episode: "Trash")
2008	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Mad Men
2009	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Mad Men
2009	Monte-Carlo Television Festival	Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama TV Series	Mad Men
2010	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Mad Men
2010	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Mad Men
2011	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Mad Men		Tied with Margo Martindale
2011	Monte-Carlo Television Festival	Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama TV Series	Mad Men
2011	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Mad Men
2011	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Mad Men
2012	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Mad Men
2012	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Mad Men
2013	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Mad Men