January Jones biography

Continuing to work on independent films, Jones had a leading role in 2006's Swedish Auto with Lukas Haas, which also received positive reviews. She followed this performance with a supporting role in the sports drama We Are Marshall, with Matthew Fox and Matthew McConaughey, that same year.

'Mad Men'

In 2007, Jones experienced a career breakthrough with the debut of the American Movie Classics' cable show, Mad Men. The 1960s drama tells the story of the lives of several employees at a New York City advertising agency. Jones played Betty Draper, the wife of suave and philandering ad executive Don Draper (played by Jon Hamm). "January has an athletic intensity to her acting," series creator Matt Wiener explained to GQ. She has been able to successfully convey Betty's struggles as a wife and a mother, to show the confusion and conflict behind her character's beautiful, but cold, exterior. "I never had any training—it's all very instinctual," she once said.

Her portrayal of Betty has earned the actress two Golden Globe nominations—one in 2009 and one in 2010. As part of the Mad Men cast, she has won two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Wishing to avoid typecasting, Jones has stayed away from other "unhappy housewife" roles. She had a small role in Richard Curtis's Pirate Radio (2009), playing a young American girl who schemes to get closer to the DJ she loves. Jones also has roles in two upcoming films: The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, with Nicolas Cage and Guy Pearce, and Unknown White Male, with Liam Neeson.

Personal Life

In June 2010, Jones made headlines when she hit several parked cars while driving her Range Rover in Los Angeles. Some claim that she fled the scene, but this allegation has been refuted by the actress, and her representative. According to the statement, the actress "left her license with a witness and walked to her nearby home to call the police." The accident reportedly occurred while Jones was trying to avoid the paparazzi.

Jones allegedly called restaurateur and celebrity chef, Bobby Flay, at the scene of the accident. The two had been part of a group watching a basketball game nearby. Shortly after Flay arrived at the site of the accident, Jones left to go home. She later returned, reportedly wearing a new outfit and chewing gum. According to TMZ.com, the Los Angeles Police Department says the actress was not under the influence at the time of the incident, and there are no plans to investigate the accident any further.

From July 2010 to January 2011, January Jones dated Saturday Night Live star Jason Sudeikis. On September 13, 2011, Jones gave birth to oher first child, Xander Dane Jones.

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