It’s been a while since we’ve had something interesting about my favorite redhead, Christina Hendricks. Christina is the cover girl for the July/August issue of Health Magazine, probably to promote the new season of Mad Men (in less than a month!!!). In the interview, Christina talks about how gorgeous she is and how happy she is that she’s a lovely, curvy woman. But instead of sounding like Jessica “My beauty hinders my career” Biel, Christina sounds like a sweetheart:

Mad Men star Christina Hendricks says she’s always been proud of her curvier figure.

“Back when I was modeling, the first time I went to Italy I was having cappuccinos every day, and I gained 15 pounds. And I felt gorgeous!” Hendricks, 35, tells the July/August issue of Health. “I would take my clothes off in front of the mirror and be like, Oh, I look like a woman. And I felt beautiful, and I never tried to lose it, ’cause I loved it!”

In February, the actress came under fire when the New York Times posted an article that slammed the star for flaunting her assets at the Golden Globe Awards. “You don’t put a big girl in a big dress,” the critic wrote.

“I made the grave mistake after one awards show of reading comments online about what I wore, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, people are so mean!'” Hendricks reveals. “I still remember all those negative comments, despite all the wonderful positivity. That’s why we’re all in therapy!”

Because of the criticism, the newlywed admits she’s surprised to learn she’s often cited as one of the most desirable bodies in Hollywood.

“Really? They don’t say Jessica Alba? ‘Cause that’s what I say!” she laughs. “It’s such a compliment, because of all those times I had agents who were like, “You have to lose some weight,” and all of a sudden, people are celebrating it.”

But the buxom redhead — who admits she could “sit down with a bag of chips and French onion dip and go to town” — also makes an effort to stay healthy by varying her gym routine.

“I get kind of bored on the treadmill, but I do it. And I do a little bit of weight training,” she says. “I’m really into the BOSU ball. You have to balance on it, and I do weights and squats on it. I’m pretty good at it — I feel sort of like a Karate Kid!”

[From Us Weekly]

I’m totally with her on the salty foods. Potato chips are the reason any attempt I make to diet is dead on arrival. Both my parents loved sweet stuff, and I don’t have a taste for cakes and pastries whatsoever. I can pass by a donut place and never feel a twinge, unlike the rest of my family. But put me near a McDonalds, and I have to go get some fries.

In another part of the interview, Christina credits her healthy body image on her mom: “I guess my mom raised me right. She was very celebratory of her body. I never heard her once say, ‘I feel fat.’” Mama Hendricks needs to come give me a pep talk. She also talks about playing Joan Holloway, the coolest girl on Mad Men: “When I first started to play her, I would think, Oh my God, I would never want to hang out with this person. She would crush me like a bug! And then, I started to love her. I think Joan and I have a “no excuses” kind of mentality—I’m going to stand by my decisions, no regrets, no apologies. But she is far more confident than I am. She’s far more confident than most women are in the world!” I really want Joanie and Roger to get back together this season.