Christina Rene Hendricks (born May 3, 1975) is an American actress and former model. She is best known for her role as Joan Holloway on the critically acclaimed AMC period drama series Mad Men (2007–2015). In 2010, a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine named her "the sexiest woman in the world". She was also voted "Best Looking Woman in America". Hendricks has received various accolades, including two Actor Awards and two Critics' Choice Awards, as well as nominations for six Primetime Emmy Awards. Born to an American mother and English father in Knoxville, Tennessee, Hendricks was raised in Portland, Oregon, and Twin Falls, Idaho, where she became active in local theater. After completing high school in Virginia, she moved to New York City to pursue a modelling career, following her entry into a Seventeen cover contest. She continued to work internationally as a model for over a decade before transitioning into acting. Hendricks had recurring roles on television series such as Beggars and Choosers (2001–2002) and Kevin Hill (2004–2005), before being cast as Joan Holloway on AMC's Mad Men in 2007, where she remained a regular cast member until the series' conclusion in 2015. She later starred on series such as Another Period (2015–2016), Hap and Leonard (2016), Tin Star (2017–2019), and NBC's Good Girls (2018–2021). Her film credits include Drive (2011), I Don't Know How She Does It (2011), Ginger & Rosa (2012), God's Pocket (2014), Lost River (2014), The Neon Demon (2016), Bad Santa 2 (2016), Fist Fight (2017), The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018), and Toy Story 4 (2019).