(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Christina Hendricks dyed her hair purple at school so she'd look more dramatic when she was acting.

The actress appears as Joan Holloway in US television show Mad Men, and has become famed for her curvy figure and red hair. She loves the shade, explaining she's never been nervous of drawing attention to her tresses.

At school Christina was a goth and though nothing of dying her locks an unconventional colour.

"I've always been sort of a ham. I was always attracted to the arts, even at a very young age. I was in dance classes and in theatre productions. It's something that came really naturally to me. I was a little goth kid in high school and dyed my hair purple, but I was still doing performances and acting. I just looked very dramatic with my purple hair!" she laughed to Parade.

"Do redheads have more fun? Tough call. Purple is awfully flattering, but red suits me better now!"

Christina can next be seen in I Don't Know How She Does It, alongside Sarah Jessica Parker. Sarah Jessica plays Kate Reddy, a financial executive who has to earn money to support her family. Christina is her friend Allison and she has nothing but praise for her co-star.

The two women got on famously and Christina learnt a lot from Sarah Jessica.

"We're sort of these harried, rushed business women and I'm there commiserating with her on the side. We're trying to be perfect mothers and perfect business women and perfect wives," she explained.

"It is a dream to work with Sarah Jessica Parker. She's everything you want her to be: she's incredibly smart and talented and gracious and very giving as an actress. I just absolutely adore her." (C) Cover Media