I met a lot of young girls modelling and they were like, 'Oh, I'm running around town and people are taking my picture', while I was saving receipts and learning how to be self-employed.

In the beginning, it was odd to have so much attention brought to my body type. I thought, "Uh-oh, brace yourself." But everyone has been so positive. During the first season, a woman came up to me at dinner and said, "I just want to thank you - watching you has made me proud of my body." I thought, What an amazing thing for someone to say! To make anyone feel good about themselves makes me feel good.

I adore the incredibly tight clothing! My own wardobe's changed - I've streamlined a little bit and definitely learnt from Joan's sleekiness and tailoring.

We were probably the last people in the country to get a VCR and we didn't have cable. There wasn't any admiration of glamour, no, 'I want to look like them or have that lifestyle', because everyone in my town had the same lifestyle. So I didn't think, 'Ooh, a movie star's birthday!' I just thought, 'What?'

A woman is beautiful when she stands out as an individual—it's a woman who has her own style and the confidence to pull it off. Half the women on the streets in New York City achieve this. I get so inspired every time I'm there.

I'll always miss Mad Men, of course, but it is interesting to finally answer different questions after nine years. Not that that's a criticism to anyone, but just simply as a character for nine years, you're going to get a lot of the same questions for many, many, many years. This is sort of refreshing.

I admire so many women, it's hard to choose, but I've always loved Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot, and Mia Farrow.