14 DAY TRIAL // As a recent piece in Los Angeles Times puts it, Christina Hendricks of “Mad Men” is iconic as a ’64 Mustang, a gorgeous woman with fire red hair, pale white skin and pure, “concentrated va, va and voom.” More than that, Christina is outspoken and very down to earth, a talented thespian who doesn’t mind being considered the new ideal of beauty in a world where more actresses are what is known as a “designer’s dream” in terms of body size.
Of course, no matter how outspoken or even indifferent she may try to be to what others have to say about her figure, Christina is not immune to gossip or meanness. Her character on screen, Joan Holloway (now Harris) may be tough and determined but, in real life, things are rarely this easy. In fact, the star is the first to admit that pressure from the media and the industry in general can often have devastating effects: it can hurt your very soul, as the star puts it.
“[T]here is such a business these days based on being critical. It’s always been there, but now there are entire magazines devoted to shredding people – who wore the worst dress, who had the worst cellulite. It just, you know, hurts your soul. At the end of the day, you’re just going to a big party. You have to remind yourself to wear the things you love. Sometimes your friends or a stylist will go, ‘Yeah… no.’ Sometimes you can’t see yourself with objectivity, but you have to go with what you think is pretty. You’re borrowing these dresses to wear to events, and sometimes they don’t feel like you – like something I would ever wear,” Hendricks says of red carpet events and how they’re covered in the media.
Speaking of burrowed dresses, once very vocal about designers who would not offer her their creations for such events because that would have meant making them in larger sizes, Christina says things have changed now and it’s all down to how famous the television show has become. “Yes, it’s been really nice. The show [‘Mad Men’] has gotten more successful, and people started realizing we were winning [awards]. They’ve been incredibly generous, making really beautiful things. I guess it’s a good thing that story got printed. Someone got the message!” Christina gushes.
In the same interview, which is very lengthy and also includes a series of stunning portraits, Christina also talks about her incredibly popular character and how, deep down inside, she’s a feminist. In fact, Hendricks believes, this is precisely why Joan is so loved by audiences: men love her because she’s gorgeous and smart, while women adore her because she’s relatable. For the full Los Angeles Times piece, please refer here.
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