Christina Hendricks, 36, is used to turning heads as Joan Holloway on the runaway hit, Mad Men, but now she's getting second glances for her work on the big screen, playing opposite Ryan Gosling in Drive, which was the talk of this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Hendricks is being lauded for her compelling performance as Blanche, a bank robbery accomplice to Gosling's character in a heist gone wrong. The film, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, is expected to hit theaters mid-September, about the same time Hendricks will also appear alongside Sarah Jessica Parker in the romcom, I Don't Know How She Does It.
The curvaceous actress, who models jewelry for Vivienne Westwood, is getting attention for more than just her versatile talent, however. Westwood's collection appeals to Hendricks as "a woman with curves." She admires the British designer "because her clothes allow you show off your waistline and shoulders and accentuate your bust," she told the UK's Daily Mail.
This is something that Hendricks knows a little bit about. "It's so bizarre that people are constantly asking if my breasts are real or fake. They're so obviously real that anyone who's ever seen or touched a breast would know." Having the assets to fill out a blouse has not always been easy, however. "Having larger breasts has made it harder for me to shop throughout the years, but I've learned to love it," she said.
She also encourages others to embrace their figures. When British Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone declared Hendricks "absolutely fabulous" for celebrating her voluptuousness, she added that "we need more of these role models." Hendricks found the comment "incredibly flattering but very, very strange — you think no one knows who you are and then a British politician says something like that." What does she think about being a role model? "If there's anything to be learned from me it's that I'm learning to celebrate what I was born with," she said.
Watch a clip from Drive here: