In the 1998 remake of Disney’s The Parent Trap, Elaine Hendrix plays Meredith Blake—the gold-digging, manipulative fiancée of Dennis Quaid’s character, Nick Parker. Hendrix’s character is so villainous that Parker’s twin daughters, Annie and Hallie, played by Lindsay Lohan, refer to her as “Cruella De Vil.”
While her movie character may have earned comparison to the antagonist in the animated classic 101 Dalmatians—who proudly wears coats made from the fur of dalmatian puppies—the actress who played the twins’ prospective stepmother in The Parent Trap is a far cry from the cruel cartoon character.
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Hendrix, 55, is vegan and would no sooner wear a fur coat than Meredith Blake would forgo a designer outfit for a social event. When we asked her recently in Los Angeles (where she is competing on Dancing with the Stars) what her Parent Trap character would think about veganism, Hendrix laughed.
“Hmm … Meredith strikes me as someone who is really up on trends, so she would probably view it more as a trend, and at least maybe have some vegan bags and vegan shoes,” she says. “She may not be fully vegan, though. As Elaine Hendrix … I’m like, I don’t care how people get there. If you think it’s a trend, great. More power to you.”
The Morristown, TN native has worked steadily in film and television for more than three decades. She moved to Atlanta for high school, was based in Los Angeles for 26 years, and now calls Atlanta (where the reboot of Dynasty, in which she starred, taped through 2022) home again. Hendrix was a professional dancer early in her career—“I was trained in modern and contemporary jazz,” she says—but in 1992, she was hit by a car while riding her bicycle in Los Angeles. The injuries she sustained waylaid her dancing career, so she switched gears to focus on acting.
Hendrix, a staunch advocate for animals, is involved with numerous animal rights and welfare organizations, including several rescues. In addition to fostering two kittens while in LA competing on Dancing with the Stars, she has four rescue dogs and two rescue cats back home in the Peach State.
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We caught up with the versatile actress to talk about everything from her vegan journey to her foray into competitive dancing—and how she fuels her body for such strenuous activity.
Juliet Pennington: What made you become vegetarian in 1995, and later vegan?
Elaine Hendrix: At the time, I was dating someone, we were into yoga together. It was really more centered around diet and spirituality, and I wasn’t thinking about the impact on animals at that time. I think that, like most people, I grew up loving animals my entire life, but I just had no idea what was happening to them. I didn’t grow up with social media and the internet. When I was a kid, I had a rabbit fur coat, and I thought that was such a treasure because I loved rabbits. You know the disconnect that’s so ingrained in society? I was a product of that. And it wasn’t until I saw an undercover fur video through PETA in 2009 that my eyes were opened, and I had such a visceral reaction to it. That completely changed everything for me. I could not believe that it was happening, and that I didn’t know it was happening. I was shocked.
JP: Is there anything you miss about your pre-vegan diet and lifestyle?
EH: No. I mean, I don’t really think about it. I feel now more than ever it’s so easy to be vegan and vegetarian, you know? Moby is a friend of mine, and at least in my world, he’s one of the OG vegans.
Like back when it was probably like you were lucky to get a side salad and a peanut butter sandwich. So now I feel like there’s kinda no excuse. There are so many fantastic options, and that just makes me so happy.
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JP: What are some of the main staples in your refrigerator and pantry?
EH: I’ve always got fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s so seasonal, but my absolute favorite fruit in the world is watermelon. That’s my desert island food. I always joke that I might not live long, but I’ll be really hydrated while I’m alive. I’m also a big soup person. I always have lentil or split pea soup. I really enjoy cooking. I also do a lot of baking, especially since I’m vegan and refined sugar-free, so I generally make my own desserts. I’m also a big snacker, so I love potato chips, guacamole, salsa, and vegetables with hummus. Pickles are also always in my house. As are olives.
JP: How do you fuel yourself for such a high-energy competition as DWTS on a vegan diet?
EH: I’m really not doing anything different. I’m doing what I do, just more of it. So I eat more nuts than I normally do, I eat more beans and rice than I normally do, I eat more tofu than I normally do. But because I’m just working and burning so many calories and I’ve got to keep my energy up, and be mindful of the recovery process, it’s just more of what I normally do since I typically eat a whole-food, plant-based diet anyway. And I’m also making sure I drink a lot of water.
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JP: Has veganism come up on the DWTS set at all?
EH: Yeah, I mean there are people in the crew who are vegan. I’ve found these days that productions are really great about providing vegan options, because there are just so many of us now. I went in on my first day for wardrobe and I said “I’d really love to not wear fur or feathers.” I didn’t know what the shoes were going to be made of, and I said if we could get non-leather shoes, that would also really be my ideal, my preference. And they’re like “Oh yeah, we have them. We’ve had other vegans.” So everything of mine is vegan.
JP: What do you say when people ask you how you look as fit and healthy as you do in your 50s?
EH: Well, I really want to be fair to people and acknowledge that I lucked out with good genes. And on top of that, it’s just taking care of what I’ve been given. I’m not a big drinker, I don’t smoke. A little over five years ago, I gave up refined sugar. I’ve been vegan for a long time. I feel like not putting death in my body really makes a big difference.
People are always like “What do you do for your skin?” It’s just soap, water, and moisturizer. I’ll sometimes get laser treatments, just to slough off dead skin, but I’m not big on facials, and—knock on wood—I haven’t started going under the knife yet. I think it’s coming, since as an actress, I want to be mindful of what I look like on camera. But I also want to age gracefully. I drink a lot of water and tea. I don’t mean to frame it in a violent way, but I fight for my health—my physical health, my mental health, my emotional health. I fight for it constantly. And I incorporate it in everything that I do—especially given the career path that I have, because it can definitely take a toll on one.
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JP: Do you have a regular workout routine?
EH: Again, I’m lucky on the gene front. Both of my parents were really slender, highly athletic. I’ve been highly active my entire life, and at this point—separate and apart from DWTS—it’s been a lot of low-impact exercise, just because of injuries and arthritis and whatnot. I’ve got four dogs and I walk them a lot. I go hiking, I do low-impact for like 20 minutes, I’ll do some jazzercise. I’m kind of old school.
JP: How do you encourage people to adopt a vegan lifestyle without being preachy?
EH: I think people get scared of it and think they have to be perfect because they’re going to be judged, and I really do my best to never judge anyone. I’ve had so many people come up to me and say I don’t feel judged by you, I feel inspired by you—and it’s really made a difference for them. I would rather take that route. I try to keep my messaging positive, and when they talk about what they think they will lose, it’s just programming, right? It’s really about what we’re gaining—especially now. We’re gaining our planet. We’re at Defcon now, you know? The stakes are so high.
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JP: What are your thoughts on the future of veganism?
EH: Well, gosh … on any given day I’m like “I hate everyone [laughs], we’re doomed, this is awful,” and then the next day I’m like “you know what, great things are happening, we’re waking up, we’re going to be okay.” I think that young people are really embracing it, and that’s fantastic. They’re literally the future. I’m betting my heart on them.
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