On May 3, 1975, Christina Hendricks was born in Knoxville, TN. After entering a cover girl competition for Seventeen magazine, Hendricks moved to New York City to become a model and actress. She gained international fame for her six-time Emmy-nominated role as the fierce office manager Joan Holloway on AMC’s “Mad Men.” Her voluptuous figure stood out among the size zeros in Hollywood, making her a body-positivity role model. Today, Hendricks plays an equally-badass woman in NBC’s “Good Girls.”
Hendricks was born to a psychologist mother and a father that worked for the U.S. Forest Service. The family moved around for Mr. Hendricks’ job, but eventually settled in Virginia, and she spent her teen years in Fairfax, VA. She described herself as an unconventional “goth” teenager. However, underneath her purple hair and black lipstick, there was no hiding her conventional good looks. She was convinced by a friend to enter a competition to be on the cover of Seventeen magazine. Hendricks moved to New York City after signing with a modeling agency at age 18.
Photo: Carin Baer/AMC/Courtesy Everett Collection
She landed her first TV role in 1999’s “Undressed” on MTV. However, Hendricks’ breakthrough role was in 2007 as the self-reliant office manager Joan Holloway on “Mad Men.” As her character worked her way up the corporate ladder from office manager to partner, Hendricks was honored with six Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Meanwhile, her hourglass figure was celebrated as a throwback to the “old Hollywood” days of Marilyn Monroe and Veronica Lake. However, Hendricks grew tired of all the think pieces about her curves. In an interview, she shared, “I was working my butt off on the show and then all anyone was talking about was my body.” Despite her frustration with the obsession over her curves, Hendricks remains an outspoken advocate for body positivity. She also continues to call out fashion designers who refuse to dress voluptuous actresses like herself.
As she celebrates her 43rd birthday today, Hendricks stars in another fiercely feminist role in NBC’s “Good Girls.” She plays a cash-strapped mother who teams up with two other women in the same predicament to rob a grocery store. Happy Birthday, Christina! Thank you for embracing your shape and inspiring us to do the same.