Christina Hendricks

It’s an unfortunate part of Hollywood, especially when it comes to the women who are in front of the camera. Looks and bodies. And actress Christina Hendricks has been dealing with the “body” part for the bulk of her career. It’s a shame because the lady can act.

Here’s where Christina Hendricks has been, what she’s been through in Hollywood, and where she’s going next.

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS GIVES LIFE UPDATES ON INSTAGRAM

Speaking to her Instagram followers, Hendricks, who isn’t shy about posting on her page, explained the past two years of her life as they pertained to her home purchase and eventual renovation.

In her candid video post, Hendricks explains, “All of the things they warn you about that could go wrong went wrong. It has been an incredible journey of ups and downs. It’s been so stressful.”

With that said, though, Hendricks appears to be over-the-moon pleased with the end results. She then posted a collage of pictures showing off those end results, explaining to her followers that she wanted her new living room “to feel like a warm and cozy cottage jewel box.”

The finished product does look wonderful. Now, let’s see if we can get her in front of the camera a little more often.

HER EARLY CAREER INCLUDED BEING PART OF AMERICAN BEAUTY

Christina Hendricks’s career started out, as have many actresses, modeling. But before her modeling career, Hendricks was a high school student who hated high school. Nothing unheard of. But for Hendricks, it was her uprooting from her Twin Falls, Idaho town to Fairfax, Virginia that caused such hate.

They were two very different ways of life, from a small-town feel where she could wear hippy dresses and Birkenstocks to a place where all the kids were having sex, wearing make-up, and were truly mean-spirited.

Christina Hendricks told The Guardian how cruel her Fairfax classmates were to her and others, “We had a locker bay, and every time I went down there to get books out of my locker people would sit on top and spit at me. So I had to have my locker moved because I couldn’t go in there… I felt scared in high school. It was like Lord of the Flies. There was always some kid getting pummelled and people cheering.”

This cruelty pushed Christina Hendricks towards acting. She focused her time in the drama department to escape the cruelty. She was able to escape, trying her hand at modeling. This she was good at.

She began modeling in New York, Japan, and London, where she ended up living for some time. She even was the hand model for the American Beauty poster.

Upon her return to the States, Christina Hendricks’s first focus was on the admin side of the music business, which she quickly figured out wasn’t going to work for her. She then moved on to the acting side of the business and has been there ever since.

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS WAS IN UNDRESSED AND FIREFLY

Christina Hendricks’s first work was in commercials for Dr. Pepper and Carl’s Jr.. Then she got her first real acting gig in the TV series Undressed. From there she began a long strong of TV series and TV movies.

She grabbed roles in Angel, a recurring role in Beggars and Choosers, Thieves, another in the hit show ER, The Court, and Presidio Med. She was also seen in the TV movies The Big Time and Hunger Point.

TV work was a constant for Christina Hendricks as she found time in a notable role on Firefly, Miss Match, and Tru Calling. She was a co-lead on the short-lived series Kevin Hill and then found time on Cold Case, Without a Trace, Las Vegas, and Jake in Progress.

She obviously was getting a lot of attention and a lot of work, which led to her big break and the most notable role of her career so far.

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS STARS IN MAD MEN AS JOAN

When Christina Hendricks was handed the pilot script for Mad Men, she just knew she had to get the part of Joan Holloway. Not only did she think so, but so did her manager. Unfortunately for the actress, her agency did not think the part would help her career.

According to Christina Hendricks via The Guardian, “They said, ‘It’s a period piece, it’s never going to go anywhere. We need you to make money and this isn’t going to make money.’ They ended up dropping me.”

But to Hendricks’s credit, getting dropped didn’t faze her in the least. “I had been on several shows that were meant to be the big ones, that would go on forever, and they didn’t. So there was no sure bet and I’d already taken a chance on them and I felt, why not do the one you’re in love with and take a chance on that?”

It was a gamble that paid off unbelievably well for the curvaceous star. She recalled taking her best friend and her mother to the screening of Mad Men, worried to death that they just wouldn’t get it.

“I turned to them and said, ‘Is it good?’ And they both said, ‘Oh yeah, it’s good.’ I said, ‘Is it boring?’ and my mother said, ‘No, but I didn’t like that he [Don Draper] was cheating on his wife at the end.'” Uh oh. Christina Hendricks knew then her mom probably wouldn’t like the show.

Mad Men was an immediate hit. The series was set in the ‘60s and followed a group of people who were part of New York City’s most prestigious ad agencies. Christina Hendricks played the office manager in a role that earned her much critical praise.

She was nominated for numerous awards for her portrayal as Joan Holloway which included wins for Critics’ Choice Television Awards, Golden Nymph Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The hit series ran for seven seasons in which Christina Hendricks played a part in each episode.

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS BATTLED BODY SHAMING

With all that critical praise, there is always seems to be some backlash. For Christina Hendricks, her backlash came with her body. She is at once curvaceous. Fiery red hair and a body to die for, it is her body that, in many cases, held Christina Hendricks back.

She told the Times, “I auditioned for things where I knew I killed the audition. I knew I did. It was like. ‘Oh, should I give you my sizes now, or…?’ And they would call up and say, ‘We just don’t think that a doctor would look like that’. I would be embarrassed to even say that out loud. There should be a million different body types [on television]. It’s outrageous that there aren’t. And it’s outrageous that we’re sitting here having this conversation and it’s even a thing.”

But Hendricks has learned how to be comfortable in her own skin and it has not slowed her down in finding work. “I know I have a figure and I long ago decided that I wouldn’t starve myself and try to become one of those typically skinny actresses. I’m completely comfortable with my body.”

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS NOW

Christina Hendricks found a ton of work during her time on Mad Men and since it ended its popular run back in 2015, she has continued to work. Her resume has expanded as she has found much more time on the big screen than she had in the past.

On top of the TV series’ Hap and Leonard, Another Period, Tin Star, and her recent shows Good Girls and Solar Opposites, Christina Hendricks has been seen in the features The Neon Demon, Bad Santa 2, Fist Fight, Egg, and American Woman.

CHRISTINA AND GEOFFREY AREND ARE SEPARATED

Her personal life has also gone through some changes. Christina’s time with her husband, actor Geoffrey Arend, ended as they separated back in April 2019, and it recently became final. Christina Hendricks posted the news on her Instagram.

SHE WAS SHOCKED BY THE GOOD GIRLS CANCELLATION

When it comes to being in front of the camera, Christina Hendricks has slowed down significantly over the past two years. With Good Girls ending its four-season run last year, Hendricks has remained relatively quiet. Perhaps it was the shock, which she calls “a little bit of a heartbreak,” of the cancellation that has kept Hendricks relatively in the shadows.

As Hendricks explained, via PEOPLE, NBC “told us we were going to get picked up and then two weeks later yanked it out from underneath us and took it away from us.”

Not only was the series cancellation upsetting, but Hendricks no longer being around her co-stars was a shock to her system as well. “So, we were kind of all like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa.’ Because we loved it. We loved doing it, and [costars] Retta and Mae Whitman were like two… they still are two of my best friends and we love working together. So, every other day we send each other texts being like, ‘I miss you, I miss you, I miss you.’ But it was a little bit of a heartbreak, because we like doing it.”

But we all know how popular shows that get canceled find new life. Would it be something Hendricks would entertain if new life was found? She sounds like she is at peace with moving forward. “What I wanted was for us to have one last season to tie it up,” said former Mad Men star.

“But I think that they exhausted their storylines. I think they started repeating themselves a little bit. And so, I think it was time. Like Mad Men … We ended on a high note. I want to leave proud of it. I never want to have regrets and I feel so proud of Good Girls. I think it was stellar from start to finish. It was done. It was good. Perfect.”