Christina Hendricks Discusses Her Famous Curves

Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan Holloway on AMC’s hit show Mad Men, has been the subject of raves, and a few rants, not for her acting chops but for the shape of her body. While we are used to hearing about pin thin actresses who are praised for their frames and then quickly turned on with accusations of eating disorders, Hendricks’ feminine curves have made her the new body type to talk about.

Recently, Hendricks sat down with Health magazine, and opened up about making peace with her curves:

“I like salty, creamy foods. I could sit down with a bag of chips and French onion dip and go to town! That would be on my last-supper list. But I discovered that dry French onion soup mix in nonfat yogurt tastes just as good. It really does!

I guess my mom raised me right. She was very celebratory of her body. I never heard her once say, “I feel fat.” Back when I was modeling, the first time I went to Italy I was having cappuccinos every day, and I gained 15 pounds. And I felt gorgeous! I would take my clothes off in front of the mirror and be like, Oh, I look like a woman. And I felt beautiful, and I never tried to lose it, ’cause I loved it.

I was a dancer until I was 19. I never had to worry about working out or what I ate. So I’ve really had to train myself to get down to the gym. But what surprised me was that my husband said [the other day], “I’m going down to work out,” and I was like, “Oh, I wish I was going.” And I was like, “Ooh! I can’t believe I just said that!” I’d had a busy week working 16-hour days, and I didn’t get to work out, and I missed it. My friends will read this and be like, “No you didn’t.” [Laughs.] But it’s true!”

When told that women prefer her body to any other actress, Hendricks responded:

“Really? They don’t say Jessica Alba? ’Cause that’s what I say! [Laughs.] It’s such a compliment, because of all those times I had agents who were like, ‘You have to lose some weight,’ and all of a sudden, people are celebrating it. It’s like: ‘Oh, thank you! Thank you for letting me be me.’ ”

Read the whole interview at Health.com