Photo: David Buchan / Stringer (Getty Images)
January Jones is still one of the hottest stars in Hollywood. She rose to fame thanks to her fantastic role as Betty Draper in the hit show Mad Men. Nowadays, most people recognize her as Melissa from another hit show, The Last Man on Earth created by Will Forte. On the other hand, the comic book fans will always see her as the powerful Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class, despite the fact that her screentime was no more than ten minutes. To celebrate her unique combination of talent and beauty, here are just a couple of facts about her maybe you didn’t know.
Name January Jones
The first thing people wonder about when it comes to January Jones is, of course, her name. Yes, she was born in January but the date apparently has no connection to her name. In fact, her father named her after the main character in the novel “Once Is Not Enough” by Jacqueline Susann. In the novel, the beautiful protagonist, January Wayne, finds herself in the unforgiving glamorous world of high-class New York. It seems as if Jones’ father foreshadowed her career in the film industry. According to January, with a name like that, she was destined to become either a stripper, a superhero, or an actress. In a way, she completed two of those options.
Son Xander
In 2011, January gave birth to a boy and named him Xander. The name is a variation of an old Greek name that’s still quite popular today – Alexander. It means “the defender of people” in case you were ever curious. One of the most interesting things about Xander, though, is that January still refuses to name his father. She’s set on raising the child herself and believes that he doesn’t really need a father. Considering she was recently in a relationship with Jason Sudeikis, some people believe that he is the father. Still, January isn’t confirming anything.
Role of Betty Draper
Now, most people know January Jones for her exceptional portrayal of a repressed housewife from the ’60s, Betty Draper, who is constantly overshadowed by her authoritative husband Don. Curiously enough, the character of Betty wasn’t in the original screenplay. In fact, January auditioned for the role of Peggy, twice, but was given a minor role of Don’s wife. Motivated by her beauty and talent, the producers decided to expand the role and it became one of the best characters in the show. It appears that her trust in the producers paid off.
Career
If you take a look at January’s filmography, you’ll notice that she hasn’t been in that many movies over the years. Wikipedia states 18 film roles so far and most of them minor like the role of a random hot American girl in Love Actually (she nailed it, though). In 2013, she appeared in Sweetwater as the main female protagonist, Sarah Ramirez, an ex-prostitute seeking revenge. Of course, people know this film mainly for its nude scenes where January is shown topless in a lake, holding a gun. However, January’s strong points are obviously TV shows. Since 2007, all the way to 2015, she kept herself busy portraying Betty Draper in Mad Men. As soon as the show ended, in 2015, she found another show that also turned out to be a hit – The Last Man on Earth. This October the show started its fourth season.
Net Worth
Considering how she’s a single mother and hasn’t appeared in too many major Hollywood films, you might ask yourself – how does she cope with it? What is her net worth? It might surprise you to hear that January Jones’ net value is around $10 million. It makes sense when you hear that she gets $100k per episode of The Last Man on Earth. Not bad, eh? She also lives in a mansion that apparently costs about a million dollars.
Which TV show starring January Jones do you prefer? Mad Men or The Last Man on Earth? Why?
