January Jones Covers Allure, Talks ‘Mad Men’ Style
With her arched eyebrows, crimson lips, beauty mark, and slightly mussed golden waves, January Jones makes like a modern-day Marilyn Monroe on the June cover of Allure.
It’s quite a contrast for the actress, whose understated elegance as Mad Men’s Betty Draper often conjures up comparisons to Grace Kelly.
“It’s hard to think I have to live up to that, because I’m not her, unless Grace Kelly drank beer,” Jones, who fronts the issue in a purple gown from the Salvatore Ferragamo Spring/Summer 2011 collection, says of the movie star turned monarch.
In fact, Jones says she also has little in common with Betty, whom she considers the “most emotionally immature” of the AMC show’s female characters.
“Peggy has goals that she’s set for herself, and gradually she sets them higher and higher, and I think that that’s something that a modern woman can relate to,” says the Versace spokesmodel, who also sees herself in sultry Joan Holloway. “While she owns her sexuality, she’s trying to be respected for other things.”
Photo courtesy of Allure
Blonde ambition: The actress is ready for her close-up in June's Allure.
Inside the pages, the South Dakota native—who was photographed for Allure by Norman Jean Roy—strikes a powerful pose in a stunning Lanvin black satin bodysuit and calfskin belt accessorized by strappy suede Christian Louboutin shoes.
Jones is clearly confident in front of the camera, having moved to New York City at age 18 to become a model and shared an apartment near the Empire State Building with fellow aspiring catwalkers. “There were more people on my block than in my entire state back home,” she says, “so it was just really neat.”
After catching the acting bug, Jones headed to Hollywood, landing bit parts in movies, and, eventually a hit TV series. Jones, who favors MiH Jeans off-screen, is a fan of Mad Men’s mod style. “The long-line bra with the pointy tips and the girdle and then the stocking on the garter belt—I really like the shape it gives me,” she says. “It’s kind of sad when you take the girdle off at the end of the day.”
Next up: a role in the summer blockbuster X-Men: First Class, in which she plays Emma Frost, a villain who can transform into a diamond.
“X-Men was the first movie I did training for,” says Jones, who never diets (“I’ll stop at McDonald’s and get a strawberry shake and fries and not feel guilty at all, because I deserve it”). “I did weighted hula-hooping; it’s really amazing for our core, hips, thighs, waist. I can do two at a time.”
Maintaining a relationship in Hollywood has been much more challenging for the mom-to-be, who recently split from Saturday Night Live comic Jason Sudeikis.
“The long distance kind of petered us out,” says the actress, who has not revealed the identity of her child’s father. “When you date someone else who’s in the industry, someone has to make the sacrifices. And if no one’s willing to, then you just have to be friends.”
Betty would be proud.
For more of Jones, including a gallery of her style evolution, visit Allure online and pick up the June issue on newsstands May 24.
