Christina Hendricks, Blake Lively, Laura Linney, Rutina Wesley: Eye-Riveting Beauty Parts

Sept. 3, 2010 — -- Beauty may be the sum of its parts, but sometimes the parts are way too extraordinary not to dazzle on their own. On rare occasions in an actress's career, her physical assets merge with her role so completely that the mystique is intoxicating.

Here's what we mean.

Christina Hendricks, who portrays Joan Harris (formerly Holloway) on AMC's "Mad Men" – is arguably her ad agency employer's best advertising campaign. Although her character's can-do no-nonsense professional traits are hard to miss, neither are her voluptuous physical attributes.

Set in the mid-sixties, -- an era when women were coming into their own -- the show features an array of self-important male characters not shy about ogling Hendricks's character's magnificent bosom and sashaying hips. Roger Sterling (John Slattery), a partner in the agency who had an affair with Joan, said it crudely but best, "You are the finest piece of a** I ever had and I don't care who knows it. I am so glad I got to roam those hillsides."

Not surprisingly, in an industry that prizes skinniness, Hendricks's curves have prompted speculation. The web site www.christinahendricksgallery.com estimates the 5'8" actress's weight, dress size and bra cup size, and surmises her measurements from a dress she wore on the show that was donated to eBay to benefit a charity.

Another buxom beauty to watch is Adrianne Palicki, who plays Cat Thatcher in Fox's new series "Lone Star," debuting September 20. Other curvaceous ladies include Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and Mariska Hargitay's iconic mom Jayne Mansfield.

For legs that simply don't know how to quit, Blake Lively's the one. Lively plays Serena van der Woodsen on CW's "Gossip Girl" whose style is grandly abetted by the statuesque actress's lower limbs.

Her legs have already attained celebrity status. For an evaluation of Lively's leg quotient, there's web site www.skinnyvscurvy.com: "Long? Check! Lean? Check! Nice shape? Check! Slim, yet not overly skinny? Check! No flaws in sight? Check! By most standards, even by the harsh Hollywood standards, Blake's legs qualify for a 'wow.'" The web site www.fitfinelines.com even wrapped some exercise routines around the headline "The Top 4 Ways To Get Blake Lively's Legs… Gimme Those Gams!"

Cast in the film "Green Lantern," which stars Ryan Reynolds and is scheduled for release next year, Lively embarked on a rigorous training program. "US Weekly" interviewed her trainer, who said her routine included "four-day-a-week 90-minute circuit training sessions full of planks, pushups and walking lunges." The likely goal: even better-looking legs.

Another leggy beauty is Maggie Q, who made an impact in the film "Mission Impossible 3" and stars in the new CW series "Nikita," which debuts September 9. Another to watch is Michelle Borth in CBS's new series "Hawaii Five-0," debuting on September 20. And if you're wondering what yoga can do for your lower extremities, the answer is Jennifer Aniston.

Laura Linney plays middle-aged Cathy Jamison in Showtime's "The Big C", who's just learned she has Stage 4 melanoma. Jamison's death-sentence diagnosis effectively liberates her. She starts acting like an expressive kid – cartwheels included – with a new mindset that's a perfect match with Linney's girly dimples.

For fans of Hollywood, it's almost impossible to think about those cheek indentations without conjuring up the image of child star Shirley Temple. Among the hard-hitting dimpled actresses, web site www.listal.com includes Miranda Carr, Marion Cotillard, Leighton Meester, Naomi Watts, Audrey Tautou, Amanda Seyfried and Kirsten Dunst.

Rutina Wesley's character on HBO's "True Blood," Tara Thornton, has experience a terror-filled season thanks to her relationship with diabolical vampire Franklin Mott (James Frain). Many of Wesley's most memorable scenes involve a quivering lower lip that, coupled with her fluttering eyelids during ecstatic vampire sex, made for a package that signaled "vulnerable female." Wearing bold red lipstick, Wesley flaunted her assets at the Emmys.

Tinsel Town puts a high premium on lips, ranging from Angelina Jolie's pillows, to Marilyn Monroe's dark-lipped pout. The web site www.thecriticalcritics.com includes in its top ten sexiest lips list the actresses Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Liv Tyler, Rosario Dawson and Jessica Alba.

Although those Burger King commercials from a couple of decades ago heralded the adage "Parts is parts," clearly some feminine ones trump others.