When your name is borrowed from a character in a Jacqueline Susann novel, certain qualities come to mind: Lusty. Spoiled. Tragic. January Jones quickly shatters that image. She’s the quintessential Midwestern farm girl, porcelain-skinned with soft blond tresses, sapphire eyes and just a trace of that distinctive American-heartland accent. Jacqueline Susann herself would have had trouble dreaming up a character this good. “The name was actually my dad’s idea,” Jones reveals, “after he saw the movie version of Once Is Not Enough with Kirk Douglas.” Jones recalls a childhood in a South Dakota farming community as “the kind of place where you knew everyone in town. Running around barefoot all day and coming home at dark for dinner. I’m not sure places like that exist anymore.” She was a self-described introvert; no school plays or cheerleading for this girl. “I was shy,” she recalls. “The idea of getting up in front of a crowd and having people judge me? I’d rather have died!”

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Days after her 18th birthday, Jones moved to New York and began modeling. She looks back on that period as an almost college-like experience, with aspects both positive and negative. “Modeling enabled me to see the world and learn about different cultures and people,” she says. “And I loved living in New York. But the work wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed. It’s a harsh business.” The progression to acting necessitated a move to Los Angeles, where she quickly amassed an impressive resumé of small but memorable supporting roles in such films as Bandits with Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett, Love Actually with Hugh Grant and Keira Knightly, and Anger Management alongside Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler. Meatier roles ensued, including one in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and a starring spot opposite dual heartthrobs Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox in We Are Marshall. Currently, she’s just back from London where she shot scenes for The Boat That Rocked, due out next year, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Kenneth Branagh.

We caught up with her by phone from her home in Los Angeles, as she was returning to the set of the breakout AMC television hit Mad Men. On the show, Jones portrays Betty Draper, the archetypal ‘60s-era suburban wife of protagonist Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm. As creative director at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency in Manhattan, he typifies the hard-drinking, smoking and womanizing ways of the Madison Avenue advertising execs of the day. It was a time before smoke-free environments, sexual harassment laws, equal rights and FDA approvals. “The show really speaks to the era,” says Jones. “We take a lot of crap for showing the smoking and drinking. But we’re realistically playing out something that is authentic to that time period,” a sentiment that’s echoed by the show’s creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner. “It’s real human behavior being played out,” he says. “The conflicting desires of the American male and the people who pay the price for it—the women.”

Jones’ character typifies that wife-as-window-dressing mentality. “I remember getting the pilot script and thinking I really want to be a part of this,” she recalls. On the surface, Betty Draper has it all: a handsome, successful husband, two perfect kids, and the ideal home. She’s a cross between June Cleaver and Grace Kelly. But as her character develops, her façade begins to crack, revealing emotional and psychological flaws. The role allows Jones to flex some serious acting muscle. “I’m pleased with where my character has gone this season, she says. “In the beginning, she was just trying to have the perfect family, but this anger and sadness is slowly boiling up inside of her.” That is seen when she brandishes a BB gun, a cigarette dangling from her lips, and starts blasting away at birds because she got fired from a modeling job: “My Clint Eastwood moment,” she jokes. And when she becomes (ahem) aroused, while doing the laundry. (Let’s just say it involves a washing machine on spin cycle.) “Betty is alone in both of those scenes. She doesn’t let others see what she’s going through.” Such private moments prove the most rewarding for this actor. “When you have to convey something a character is feeling,” she reveals. “Something unsaid, in your eyes or your actions—those are great moments.”

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ATLANTA PEACH: What was most difficult for women like Betty, circa 1960?

JANUARY JONES: Not having the freedom to speak your mind, or go to college for a career or to get ahead in business. Just [not] to have all the opportunities and options that are now taken for granted.

And today?

In some ways, it’s the opposite. Now we put so much pressure on ourselves to have it all, work and family, or sacrificing children for the sake of a career. But professionally, women are still struggling. We still don’t have as many opportunities as men.

How long does it take you in makeup and wardrobe every day for Mad Men?

Only about an hour and a half. We have it down pretty good. But there are still the rollers and the girdle and the garter belt. Everything is completely authentic to the period. It really changes how you walk and carry yourself. It definitely helps you get in character. I enjoy looking in the mirror before going on set and seeing Betty.

All the characters are smoking in practically every scene. I know for health reasons they are herbal cigarettes. What are they like?

They are awful! Completely awful. They are really harsh. Sometimes it’s nice to have a prop, but after delivering a five-minute monologue smoking the entire time, you feel like you’re going to faint.

How does working on a television show differ from films?

In movies, there’s a beginning and an end. Hopefully, there’s an arc in the middle. And that’s your character. With TV, you never know what’s going to happen from one week to the next. It’s like you’re living the character. I’m constantly learning new things about Betty. I feel I know her better than any character I’ve ever played because I’ve played her the longest. I’ve become attached to her.

Your upcoming film The Boat That Rocks is a period comedy about a pirate radio station in the North Sea in the 1960s. What stage of production is that in?

We’re about a third of the way through filming. I just returned from London where I filmed most of my scenes. I’m going back in May to shoot a final scene on the boat.

You worked with the film’s writer and producer Richard Curtis previously on Love Actually and Anger Management. Is that how the role came about?

He actually wrote the part for me. It’s a small role, just a few scenes. But it’s an incredible cast. I love working with Richard and everyone at Working Title Films. And I love London. It was also nice to be working on a film during the strike, since I didn’t know when I’d be going back to work.

Was production of the show delayed as a result of the writers’ strike?

Fortunately not. Our schedule was always to shoot from April to August. There was a slight delay getting the scripts ready, but we’ll still come out on schedule.

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What is it like working with Jack Nicholson?

Even working on a comedy, when he takes something on, he’s totally in it. But when the director says ‘cut’ he’s so nice and regular. And he’s been very complimentary of me and my work.

How about Tommy Lee Jones?

I was very nervous about having him as a director because I only knew him as an actor. So it was a huge learning experience. He really respected everyone’s craft and he trusted us with our characters and gave us the responsibility of knowing them, as only a fellow actor can do. And that movie was so beautifully done. Being able to take it to Cannes with all that tension and the glamour, it was a great experience.

And being directed by Steven Soderbergh?

He’s a very laid-back, cool guy. I only had a tiny scene in the movie [Full Frontal] but he still let us improv. There was a Red Bull in the scene, and I said, ‘Oh God, this wasn’t here before, what about continuity?’ And he said, ‘Continuity is for pussies.’

Apart from acting, you have your own jewelry line. How did that come about?

It’s a fun, creative outlet for me. I only do things that I’m truly passionate about, from the roles I choose to my jewelry designs. I won’t do something just because I’m bored. My first line is based on a vintage piece from my mother. It should be in stores soon.

You always look great on the red carpet. Who are your favorite designers?

I’m a big fan of Chanel and Oscar de la Renta. I wore Armani Privé to the [2008] SAG Awards. And I was just in China for the Ferragamo fashion show. They recently hired Christina Ortiz for women’s wear. They have a great line out now. The younger designers are all amazing too—Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen and Proenza Schouler. It’s just a great time for fashion. There’s no set format, like when it was all about the ‘70s. It’s very artistic right now. Everyone is taking risks.

Time for the obligatory romance questions. Are you seeing someone?

I am [long pause] but with respect to my past, and my future, I just don’t talk about that stuff anymore. I’ve gotten smart!

What do you look for in a relationship?

Support and mutual respect. Something that is easy and effortless. And by that I mean it should feel comfortable and natural. I’m not naive, or a hopeless romantic, I know you have to work hard at a relationship. My parents have been married for 34 years. They are still so happy and in love. I look at them and I see what’s possible.

Styled by Annie Jagger/margaretmaldonado.com. Hair by Campbell McAuley/Solo Artists. Makeup by Rachel Goodwin/Magnet LA. Produced by Michelle/First Shot Productions. Shot on location at Miauhaus Studio-Playhaus, Los Angeles, California.