Christina Hendricks

Christina Hendricks jump-started her career on television in the early 2000s, with a particularly effective multi-episode contribution to the medical drama ER. On that program, she played Joyce, a battered housewife given solace -- and shelter -- by one of the female employees of Cook County Hospital. Also in 2002, Hendricks appeared in a memorable role on the short-lived cult sci-fi series Firefly as the seductive, scheming conwoman Saffron (in two episodes, one of which never aired). She continued to find steady work on television, notably co-starring with Taye Diggs on the short-lived legal drama Kevin Hill (2004-2005). In 2007, Hendricks took on a prominant role on one of the most promising and original new series of 2007: Mad Men. In that AMC serialized drama -- a saucy period show that unfolded in a Madison Avenue ad agency in 1960 -- Hendricks convincingly portrayed Joan, a predatory secretary unafraid to wrest control by flaunting her sexuality. - Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide