Elaine Hendrix, Beyond “Meredith Blake”: Inside Her Life, Family, Activism

For a generation raised on Disney’s 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, Elaine Hendrix will forever be “Meredith Blake,” the perfectly coiffed PR shark who squared off against Lindsay Lohan’s double trouble. But the woman behind the iconic role is far more than a scene-stealing antagonist. In 2025, Hendrix is having a renaissance—reuniting with Lohan on the big screen, stepping onto the Dancing with the Stars stage, and reminding fans that her off-camera life is rooted in family, friendship, and fierce animal advocacy. If you’ve ever wondered whether Elaine Hendrix is married, what her background looks like, or how she feels about returning to that Lohan universe—here’s the definitive, up-to-date guide.

Is Elaine Hendrix married?

Short answer: No. Recent profiles spotlighting her Freakier Friday press tour and DWTS reveal identify Hendrix as not married. That single status tends to spark curiosity because her public persona—thanks to Meredith Blake’s deliciously calculating glamour—has long made fans wonder about “real life” romance. Hendrix herself keeps that part of her life private; the key point is that, for now, she isn’t walking down any aisle.

A full-circle reunion with Lindsay Lohan

Twenty-seven years after The Parent Trap, Hendrix reunited with Lohan for Disney’s 2025 sequel Freakier Friday. Speaking at the Season 34 DWTS cast reveal, Hendrix called the reunion “emotional,” marveling at seeing Lohan “all grown up” after first meeting her as a child actor. The comeback wasn’t just nostalgic fan service; it underscored a real professional respect between two women who helped define a millennial classic. The big-screen sequel rolled out in August 2025, reuniting Lohan with Jamie Lee Curtis and other returning faces, while giving Hendrix a cheeky nod back into that world.

Dancing shoes, please: why DWTS matters this time

Hendrix also joined the Dancing with the Stars Season 34 lineup, a millennial catnip cast that mixes athletes, ‘90s/‘00s TV favorites, and pop-culture regulars. For Hendrix, the show is both a visibility booster and a chance to recast first impressions: the actor best known for a villainess is suddenly opening packages, sweating in rehearsals, and cracking jokes with a pro partner on live TV. That’s brand building in 2025: your social feeds, your nostalgia halo, your current project—braided together by a primetime platform.

Family roots and early life

Born Katherine Elaine Hendrix on December 28, 1970, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Hendrix grew up with a strong sense of service and storytelling. Her father served in the Vietnam War; her mother, Mary, has acting credits of her own. Before acting, Elaine trained seriously as a dancer and modeled, pivoting to on-camera work in the early 1990s after an accident curtailed her dance career. That eclectic path—discipline from dance, charisma from commercials—shows up in her screen presence: poised, musical, and precise.

The career arc: from Get Smart to Dynasty

By the mid-’90s, Hendrix was booking steady TV and film roles: Fox’s revival of Get Smart (1995), cult favorites like Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997), and mainstream studio fare including The Parent Trap (1998) and Inspector Gadget 2 (2003). More recently, she chewed scenery—beautifully—on the rebooted Dynasty (2019–2022), proving her longevity as a go-to for characters who blend ice and wit. That breadth keeps casting directors calling when a script needs someone who can be wickedly funny one minute and flinty the next.

Meredith Blake forever? The friendship that outlived the meme

If Meredith Blake became a meme, Hendrix and co-star Lisa Ann Walter (Chessy!) became something purer: best friends. A 2023 genealogy deep-dive revealed that their great-grandparents lived mere blocks apart on Manhattan’s Lower East Side—a goosebump fact that both women now cite as “fate.” Walter has publicly called Hendrix her “life partner” (in the platonic soulmate sense), and the two continue to show up for each other on- and off-camera. It’s a Hollywood friendship with roots, not just red-carpet selfies.

Activism with teeth: The Pet Matchmaker and beyond

Long before celebs added “activist” to their bios, Hendrix put real infrastructure behind her passion. In 2012, she founded The Pet Matchmaker, a project dedicated to adoption, rescue, and education—complete with outreach, events, and media. She’s also served on boards like Stray Rescue of St. Louis and supported global campaigns (including “No to Dog Meat”). For fans who discovered her through a “villain,” the cause work is a welcome contrast: Hawkins-level chic on screen; boots-on-the-ground compassion off it.

Heritage and family threads

Hendrix’s family story extends well beyond Tennessee. She has spoken about Italian roots on her mother’s side, with relatives who immigrated through New York and joined a tight-knit downtown community in the early 20th century—one reason that Lower East Side discovery with Lisa Ann Walter felt so serendipitous. Add in listed ancestry of Danish, Irish, and English lines, and Hendrix fits a quintessential American pattern: layered identities, all converging in a creative career.

Why 2025 feels like a hinge year

Put the pieces together and you see an inflection point: a hit of box-office nostalgia (Freakier Friday), prime-time presence (DWTS), and renewed media attention to her personal story (family heritage, activism, marital status). For an actor working across decades, that kind of moment isn’t an accident; it’s the compound interest on consistency. Hendrix understands the assignment: engage with the past that made you famous, but keep showing audiences who you are now.

The Meredith effect: redefining a “villain”

One reason Hendrix’s resurgence plays so well online is that the culture has spent the last few years re-evaluating “mean girls” and “villainesses” through a 2020s lens. Meredith Blake isn’t just a stepmom stereotype anymore; she’s an archetype ripe for revision—ambitious, stylish, and unapologetic. Hendrix, savvy as ever, has leaned into that conversation with humor and generosity, acknowledging why audiences love to hate Meredith while centering her own values: kindness, rescue, and community.

FAQs—quick hits

How old is Elaine Hendrix? Born December 28, 1970, she’s 54 in 2025.

Is she married? No—recent coverage confirms she is not married.

What’s her biggest cause? Animal welfare. She founded The Pet Matchmaker in 2012 and actively supports rescue organizations.

What’s new on screen? She reunited with Lindsay Lohan in Freakier Friday (released August 2025) and is competing on DWTS Season 34.

What makes Elaine Hendrix compelling in 2025

The hook with Hendrix isn’t just nostalgia; it’s contrast. She can play diamond-hard characters and then spend her off-hours getting muddy at a rescue shelter. She can walk a red carpet and then waltz (or cha-cha) under the unforgiving lights of a live competition show. She can be the internet’s favorite villain while quietly building an advocacy legacy that saves lives—all without the click-hungry theatrics that often attend “celebrity activism.” In an era that rewards authenticity, Hendrix’s through-line is simple: show up, do the work, keep evolving. Meredith Blake might scheme; Elaine Hendrix builds.

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