We're not the only ones who noticed Christina Hendricks, Mad Men's bodacious chief secretary Joan, busting out at the Emmy Awards. The model-turned-actress, who's barely contained by the show's intricate early-'60s lingerie and major-league dresses, has become a new sex symbol for an era in which thinness is valued over natural curves.
According to the New York Post's Page Six Magazine, Hendricks is "being compared to glamorous old-Hollywood starlets like Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe." And the Emmys were a "monumental night" for her. "Decked out in an emerald-hued Tadashi Shoji gown, [she] had one of those red carpet breakout moments fantasized about by fashionistas everywhere. Thanks to the way she was poured into the dress—complete with major 'look at me' cleavage—she was catapulted to the top of the night's best-dressed lists as the epitome of old-Hollywood elegance.
"Still," the magazine adds, "that's not to say she hasn't been pressured to jump on the starve-yourself bandwagon. 'I was a model for years, and even when I was 19 years old and 115 pounds [and 5´8˝], my agency said, "Your ankles are a little large. If you could lose 10 pounds, that would be really great,"' she says. 'I've always had boobs and hips, even when I was 115 pounds. And here I am, much heavier than when I was modeling, and all of a sudden people are giving me positive feedback. Sure, I'd be happier with 10 pounds off—wouldn't every woman? But at the same time, when I looked at myself in those red carpet pictures, I thought, "Oh my God, I looked beautiful." I didn't tear myself apart.' "
We say, good for her. And, for that matter, good for Joan Holloway, whose mixture of competence, confidence and vulnerability makes her one of the most interesting characters on TV today. As the show's Paul Kinsey said, "Marilyn's really a Joan, not the other way around."
Oh, and something else Christina's happy about? Her boyfriend, actor Geoffrey Arend, who'll soon be appearing in a new show... about advertising. Sorry, guys.
Photo: Brian Bowen Smith, Page Six Magazine
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