Elaine Hendrix | Iconic Meredith Blake, DWTS Comeback, and the Accident That Changed Everything!

#904. This week on Off the Vine, Kaitlyn sits down with actress Elaine Hendrix — you may know her as Meredith Blake from The Parent Trap — for a conversation that goes way beyond the movie you think you know her from!

Elaine opens up about returning to dance decades later on Dancing with the Stars, why she was convinced she was going home every single week, and how a cracked rib nearly took her out of the competition. She shares what viewers didn’t see: the nonstop rehearsals, emotional whiplash, intense competitiveness, and why the timing finally felt right to say yes after turning the show down before.

We rewind to the moment that changed everything — being hit by a car just as her dance career was taking off — and how living with chronic pain reshaped her relationship with her body and work. Elaine also reflects on landing The Parent Trap at 26 (as the 433rd actress to audition), why Meredith Blake has become a millennial icon, and how fans’ relationship with that character has completely flipped.

Honest, funny, and full of perspective, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss!

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: 

• 4:04 — The rib injury on Dancing with the Stars that forced Elaine to miss an episode — and how pushing too hard in rehearsals literally cracked ribs
• 12:28 — Being hit by a car at 21 just after moving to LA — the moment that abruptly ended her dream of a dance career
• 14:32 — The Parent Trap audition process — and how she became Meredith Blake!
• 37:32 — The reality show that would absolutely destroy Elaine — and why she wouldn’t last five minutes.

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