Mad Men Season 5 – Christina Hendricks: I was a high school goth

Posted on 1 May 2012
By Pierce King
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Christina Hendricks has spoken about how playing the role of Joan in Mad Men has given her more confidence – and admitted that as a teenager she was a high school goth.

Fans of the smash hit TV show are familiar with the curveacous actress and her style, which has made her a fashion icon and Christina says she’s pleased Joan’s sass is contagious.

Growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee, her mother, a psychologist and her British father, whose job working for the US Forest Service meant they moved often – and she embraced goth culture as a way of experimenting with fashion – before breaking into acting.

Christina said: “The amazing thing about Joan is how confident she is. I was never that confident.

“When we shot the pilot I was like, Who is this woman? I’m not friends with people like that.

“She’s living in the ’60s, but she uses sexual innuendo, which is taboo. Because of that and a very tight green dress, she became a sexual character.

“She was very openly saying, I have sex, and I don’t care if you judge me. I’m not going to apologize for who I am. Those qualities resonated with people, and have given me confidence.

“In high school it was a different story, I had these looks. Sometimes they were very tragic. I wore a pair of green, silk, MC Hammer–style pants with the low crotch, Birkenstocks, and my hair in a turban.

“What that look was, I don’t know, but it was kind of amazing. I wasn’t one of those sloppy, dirty goths.

“I thought it was very beautiful and I went out of my way to do it right, in a very high-fashion kind of way.”

Christina Hendricks photos taken by Blackbook.

Mad Men Season 5 continues tonight

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