History Characters / MadMenFamilies

->'''Played By:''' Talia Balsam

->'''Played By:''' Larisa Oleynik

The relatives, spouses, and children of the main cast of ''Series/MadMen''. Beware of spoilers.

* NiceHat: Marie has quite a number of them to match her outfits.

* NiceHat: Has a wide collection of hats for her going-out outfits, the image shown is just one of many.

See [[Characters/MadMenTheMainCharacters here]] for Betty and Sally Draper and [[Characters/MadMenSterlingCooperDraperPryce here]] for Megan Draper.

* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Father, Like Daughter]]: Lampshaded in the first season when Roger complains about how bratty she is, with Joan pointing out that she's only taking after Roger; she also turns out to be as self-centered as him and abandons parenthood for the commune (while her father simply just spent more time with a mistress).

* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Family Member]]: A mediator for both her ex-husband and daughter, this is well shown in the 3rd season when Margaret's wedding was being prepared.

->'''Bobby Played By''': Maxwell Huckabee, Aaron Hart, Jared Gilmore, and Mason Vale Cotton

->'''Played By''': Christopher Stanley

* ParentalSubstitute: {{Justified}} since he's more around than Don and has far less issues than him. Don gets a little jealous of his good parenting skills.

Joan's mother.

* ApronMatron: Played with. She's a lot kookier and more glammed up than the usual trope but her background implies she was TheAlcoholic who raised Joan mostly by herself and she worked outside the home while being a domestic goddess; she also has old-fashioned standards for Joan's behavior.
* CoolOldLady: Has a camaraderie with the hippie-styled babysitter of Kevin and with Joan's childhood friend.
* {{Foil}}: To Katherine Olson and the late Ruth Hofstadt, she does stress Joan out and is responsible for how Joan uses her looks to operate throughout the world and for submitting to men in relationships, but her relationship with Joan has grown enough for her to see that Joan is a grown woman who can take care of herself while Peggy and Betty have clearly been scarred by their Mother's disapproving behavior.
* TheGadfly: Joan says Gayle loves to "stir the shit" and Gayle seems to find ways to manipulate Joan into obeying her or trip over her insecurities, for instance the SCDP ad to take the piss at Y&R.
* IAmNotPretty: She raised Joan to put care and attention to her appearance, to be the most beautiful woman in the room and is implied to feel she isn't so attractive. When Joan's friend Kate gives her a Mary Kay makeover, Kate remarks "if you look at little rusty, it's because I'm a little rusty" and Gail replies "I need all the help I can get".
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Is meddling and messes with Joan's mind, but she is very supportive of her daughter and her career; Gail is even welcoming to Joan's friends and later [[spoiler: helps start a production company with Joan]].
* MenAreStrongWomenArePretty: She raised Joan to be "admired", as in for being beautiful and subservient to men, rather than for any personal and professional merits Joan can achieve.
* MyBelovedSmother: She is one of the few people who can try to make Joan waver in confidence, it seems her influence has been slipping somewhat with Joan as an adult woman who is learning to live life the way it makes her happy. Implied she is competitive with Joan about attracting men and is the reason Joan attaches a great value to her looks.
-->'''Gayle:''' You aren't at your fighting weight
--> '''Joan:''' Try Me.
* SilverVixen: Clearly wants to be this, inviting the plumber in to enjoy his company (deliberately putting a lemon peel in the garbage disposal, and plays stupid when Joan tells her she can ask him out and she states he is married with four children. Later on his wife refuses him into Joan's apartment because of Gayle's behavior.
* StayInTheKitchen: She has these ambitions for Joan, urges her to be submissive to men especially her husband, despite having to had to work when Joan was growing up.
* TwoDecadesBehind: She dresses like it's still the 1950s or early 1960s, even more so than Joan.
* WellDoneDaughterGal: She is even surprised herself that she is more proud of her daughter being a Madison Avenue agency partner than for her being a Surgeon's wife.

[[folder:Bobby Draper and Gene Draper]]
->'''Bobby Played By''': Maxwell Huckabee, Aaron Hart, Jared Gilmore, and Mason Vale Cotton

Don and Betty's sons. Much more in the background than Sally.

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* ADayInTheLimelight: For Bobby in "The Flood" and "Field Trip"; both dealing with his relationship with his parents.
* TheCutie: Bobby. Gene in Season 7B.
* DeadGuyJunior: Gene [[BirthDeathJuxtaposition is born soon after Betty's father dies]], and she names the baby after him, much to the dismay of Don (who couldn't stand her father and vice versa) and Sally (who is having a hard enough time dealing with her grandfather's death without a ReplacementGoldfish coming along).
* TheKlutz: As a young child, Bobby accidentally hurts himself and breaks a lot of things around the house. It's not that unusual, but Betty comes down on him hard over it.
* ParentalFavoritism: While Sally is more of a frustrating mystery to him, the few times we see him interact alone with Bobby have always been rather emotionally significant to Don, as his own baggage related to his father causes him to see a certain connection to him.
** Gene is the one child Betty constantly holds next to her and treats tenderly.
* LivingProp: Well, Gene is still a baby, but Bobby has been able to talk since we've known him and rarely avails himself of this ability.
** This looks like it could change for Bobby as of the Season 6 episode, "The Flood."
* SoapOperaRapidAgingSyndrome: Inverted in Bobby's case. Due to multiple recastings (see below) he was somehow no younger than four or five in 1960 but not yet a teenager by 1970.
* TheOtherDarrin: There have been ''four'' Bobbys so far. With Mason Vale Cotton's PromotionToOpeningTitles, it looks like this has come to an end. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the episode "The Better Half" where Bobby mentions that ([[InUniverse at his summer camp]]) he's known as "Bobby five" because there's so many, and that "Bobby one" left.

[[folder:Henry Francis]]
[[quoteright:153:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Henry-Francis-001_7404.png]]
->'''Played By''': Christopher Stanley

An acquaintance of Roger Sterling's, Henry is a Republican political operative in New York State first for Governor Nelson Rockefeller, then for New York Mayor John Lindsay,[[note]]Both Rockefeller and Lindsay were noted liberal Republicans, and Francis is no different[[/note]] whom Betty meets at a party. After her marriage to Don starts to founder, she begins an affair with him and eventually divorces Don to marry him. He himself is already divorced, with a daughter. He is eventually elected to the New York State Senate from a safe GOP seat in Westchester County.

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* FiftiesHair: As he is a politician, he maintains this conservative look into 1970.
* MamasBoy: Implied, his mother is a very terrifying and domineering woman that looks down at Betty and he's more mild-mannered compared to her. He's shown to be in some denial after a heavier Betty dyes her hair black, resembling a younger version of his Mother.
* MayDecemberRomance: He's a good fifteen years older than Betty and while they aren't without problems, it's clear they love each other very much.
* TheMissusAndTheEx: Having been through a divorce before, Henry tries to be the voice of reason with Betty to try to get along better with Don for the kids sake and her own future, but tends to be terse with Don every time they communicate in early years. By later seasons, he generally shrugs it off.
** The one real flash of anger toward Don featured Henry passive aggressively nudging his car forward into boxes of Don's stuff after an argument with Betty, and while requesting he move his items in a later conversation, requesting Don not come on Sunday because that is the day of Don's son Gene's birthday party. [[spoiler:Don shows up anyway and Betty lets him because he'd not risk losing contact with the kids for the sake of the fight.]]
* NiceGuy: Betty seems to consider him this, in contrast to Don. He may not be so much of one.
* NotSoAboveItAll: "The Runaways" has him display some [[StayInTheKitchen chauvinistic]] attitudes towards Betty, with him even referring to both her and a teenage Sally as [[FreudianSlip "Girls! Girls!"]]
* OnlySaneMan: Usually is, but his old-fashioned ways do clash with Betty's CharacterDevelopment in late seasons.
* ParentalSubstitute: {{Justified}} since he's more around than Don and has far less issues than him. Don gets a little jealous of his good parenting skills.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He might be the best parent on the show. In spite of this, Betty takes his advice about everything ''except'' when it comes to Sally.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: Defied, he doesn't invoke his clout to dodge petty things like car tickets and doesn't like it when his relatives try to. He explains to his Mother that his approach to dealing with a speeding ticket is "to pay it".
* SilverFox
* StandardFiftiesFather: In the most ironic way possible, given the context.

[[folder:Mona Sterling]]
->'''Played By:''' Talia Balsam

Roger Sterling's first wife, who he divorces and leaves for Jane, a secretary at SCDP.


* FiftiesHair: Starts off with very conservative hair until she loosens up towards the end of the decade.
* SixtiesHair: She longer, bigger, flipped out teased hairdos.
* AmicableExes: Settles on this kind of relationship with Roger, as they have a daughter and a grandson together. [[spoiler: After his divorce with Jane]] he virtually has no other family.
* DeadpanSnarker: Hmmm, so that's what they saw in each other....
* FootDraggingDivorcee: She refuses to divorce Roger until she gets a lot of money from him after 20 years of marriage.
* GrandeDame: Oh so much.
* HiddenDepths: "The Monolith" points out that she struggled with drinking and depression while raising Margaret as a young mom and that she was often lonely, likely when Roger was at War or when he came back and spent most of his time at the agency or with mistresses.
* IAmNotPretty: Several comments early in the series recall Mona counting her calories obsessively and telling Margaret that her wedding day was "the best I ever looked", noting an insecurity about her age and beauty possibly fading and her worries that she is losing Roger because of it. She gets over this later in the series as she tells Roger:
-->'''Mona''': I thought you married Jane because I had gotten old, and then I realized [[PsychologicalProjection it was because you had]].
* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Family Member]]: A mediator for both her ex-husband and daughter, this is well shown in the 3rd season when Margaret's wedding was being prepared.
* TheMissusAndTheEx: With Jane Sterling, even after Roger and Jane are divorced, Mona makes sure to be more poised in comparison to Jane and has a hard time being neutral during the wedding plans in regards to Jane.
** Played with in scenes with her and Joan, as she isn't aware of the relationship between Joan and Roger and respects Joan's beauty and fashion know-how.
* PrettyInMink: She puts on a very fancy white fur coat in Season 7 episode "The Monolith", which is entirely ironic as she's surrounded by dirty-looking hippies.
* RichBitch: Her first appearance shown her to not show any sympathy to Betty when she mentions that she still is reeling from the death of her mother, Roger complained about her being judgmental; she is a more sympathetic example than most.
* ShadowArchetype: Was set as such to Betty in the first seasons. She looked cold and distant as her marriage to Roger is clearly unhappy. Also in Season 2 she bitterly laughs at Betty's humiliation by Don as if she already went through something similar. Her eventual divorce and much happier second marriage foreshadowes [[spoiler: Betty's divorce and second marriage.]]

[[folder:Margaret Hargrove (née Sterling)]]
->'''Played By:''' Elizabeth Rice

Roger and Mona Sterling's only daughter. She is married and has one child. She later leaves her husband and son to live in a Hippie commune and changes her name to "Marigold".

* FiftiesHair: Has a ponytail later cut into a bob in Season One and maintains wavy hair and beehives.
* SixtiesHair: She gets her hair cut into a Sandra Dee esque style and grows it out into a elaborate braided bun.
* SeventiesHair: Her hair gets looser as the show goes on and ends up a hippie with long, loose hair.
* AtLeastIAdmitIt: She inherited Roger's less savory qualities (self-centeredness and a disregard for familial responsibilities), but she tells her parents that she doesn't want her son to be raised the way she was with a father who leaves his daughter for mistresses and a mother who drinks.
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: That doesn't change much even when she is over 20.
* CallingTheOldManOut: After being asked how she could live with abandoning her family by her father, she brutally points out the hypocrisy in that, considering how he was a distant, incapable, apathetic parent who abandoned his wife and kids to marry his secretary, so why can't she do the same as him.
* CityMouse: Averted, despite hating sleepaway camp as a child, she has adjusted well to the rustic conditions of the countryside commune (no running water or electricity, preparing her own food, sleeping on the floor) to the amazement of Roger.
* HiddenDepths: Her time on the commune reveals that she is very capable of living outside of her pampered upbringing and also illustrated the resentments she felt about her parents throwing money at her rather than spending time with her. Also it's implied she has been depressed since her first two boyfriends, either enlisted in the Army or committed suicide.
* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Father, Like Daughter]]: Lampshaded in the first season when Roger complains about how bratty she is, with Joan pointing out that she's only taking after Roger; she also turns out to be as self-centered as him and abandons parenthood for the commune (while her father simply just spent more time with a mistress).
* LonelyRichKid: How she grew up with a mother who was depressed and alcoholic and a father who spent more time with his mistresses and had a secretary buy her presents; it doesn't help that her parents, especially Roger, make it clear that they don't like spending time with her or each other.
* MissingMom: Becomes this to her son when she runs off to a commune.
* PrecociousCrush: As a teenager, she is seen trying to flirt with [[ChickMagnet Don]] in front of her parents, Don just gives her an awkward smile.
* SheIsAllGrownUp: Deconstructed between Harry and Pete at Roger's mother's memorial service when Harry remarks that Margaret (whom they knew since she was a teenager) is very sexy and Pete comments that Harry is disgusting.
* SkewedPriorities: She is seen crying hysterically at Kennedy's assassination, only because her wedding (scheduled a few days after that day) will be disrupted.
[[/folder]]

The wife of the real Don Draper, who lives in California. Through flashbacks, we find out that she tracked "Don" down after he came back from the war and demanded an explanation, but was very forgiving when she got one. She and this Don never had a romantic relationship; instead she was, as they both said at different times, the only person who knew all about him. [[spoiler:She dies of cancer in season four.]]

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[[folder:Trudy Campbell]]
[[quoteright:145:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Trudy-Campbell-001_8730.png]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/AlisonBrie

Pete Campbell's wife, from a NouveauRiche family. They had a rocky start, but have grown into one of the most stable and loving couples on the show for a brief period of time.

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* FiftiesHair: Starts the series with chic updos of the later 1950s and early 1960s, only to loosen to bouffants as the series goes on.
* SixtiesHair: She wears her hair in flipped and elaborate bouffants that get longer as the decade goes by.
* SeventiesHair: When she isn't wearing her hair up, she wears her hair lose and when we see her again in 1969 and 1970, her hair is long and loose with some curls. The finale sees her traveling with long, loose but styled hair.
* AmicableExes: She settles in this kind of relationship with Pete in late seasons, for their daughter's sake. [[spoiler: And eventually rekindling their marriage.]]
* BrainyBrunette: A cunning, witty, vivacious brown-haired woman who coaches her husband through his career and reads "the Classics" as opposed to modern short stories and paperback novels.
* DaddysGirl: She's her father little princess, and nothing is ever too much for her (which her husband resents, given [[TheUnfavourite his upbringing]]). [[spoiler: To the point of throwing out of the window a years-long partnership with Pete when his father-in-law finds out he cheats on his daughter.]]
* TheDogBitesBack: [[spoiler:Having had enough of Peter's lies and adultery, Trudy unleashes a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech before kicking him out of the house in season 6. A completely unintimidated Pete then bites back himself, stating "You're going to sleep alone tonight. And you will realize you don't know anything for sure." In this show, he's right.]]
* HappilyMarried: Played with.
** Pete and Trudy's marriage takes work (and isn't always so happy), but as pointed out above, it's on much solider ground than most of the other SCDP marriages. However, she eventually becomes quite naggy (see entry on her husband.)
** [[spoiler:They're in the process of divorcing by Season 7 and then call it off in 7B before moving to Wichita.]]
* HiddenDepths: Trudy can dance a mean Charleston and apparently ''really'' loves watching boxing.
** It was also shown that she is known among the office as a notoriously adamant party host, who won't take no for an answer when inviting people. She was even able to force Don to attend a party he wanted out of, and Betty couldn't even get the guy to show up to his kid's birthday party.
* LawOfInverseFertility: Gets pregnant just as she and Pete decide to adopt, after trying for three years with no luck she gives birth to their daughter. In Season 2, her inability to conceive is also framed in contrast to Peggy's unwanted pregnancy in Season 1 (by Pete, no less) and Betty's at the end of season 2.
* NiceHat: Has a wide collection of hats for her going-out outfits, the image shown is just one of many.
* NouveauRiche: Her father is a SelfMadeMan of humble background, and she married into an old money but impoverished family.
* SilkHidingSteel: Appears to be a young, bubbly, sociable upper-middle class housewife with classy manners and a fashionable wardrobe, she always proves herself to be tougher than what her husband expects.
* SocialClimber: Much of the earlier season has her courting the attention of more established women and planning dinner parties, she doesn't abandon this activity but focuses more on their daughter Tammy.
* SpoiledSweet: She is a only child and her parents' little princess. She is usually kind and considerate but later seasons shows that she is used to get what she wants. Hers and Pete's biggest crisis starts when they move out of Manhattan and she really can't see that Pete is deeply unhappy with living in suburbs.
* StepfordSmiler: Downplayed. She has a habit of hiding negative emotions behind a bubbly smile, but is still capable of putting her foot down and asserting herself when she feels the need to.
* WomenAreWiser: She is sometimes more adult than Pete. Other times she can be naive or overly optimistic, and Pete needs to tell her what's what.
** In 7B she clearly tells him that she looks back and sees things as they are rather than how she wants to see them as, so she has grown a lot from the young, wide-eyed bride she was in the early 60s.

[[folder:Emile and Marie Calvet]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/RonaldGuttman and Creator/JuliaOrmond

Megan's French-Canadian parents, whose marriage is decaying from the inside out.

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* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Emile seemed amused at Pete fooling him about admiring his work on Marxism.
* TheAlcoholic: Marie is rarely seen very far from a glass, and in "For Immediate Release" she pulls out a wine glass and then chooses to just drink out of the bottle.
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Two [[FunnyForeigner funny foreigners]] who argue in French. One is a communist KnightTemplar and the other a LadyDrunk with a tongue sharp like a guillotine.
* BrutalHonesty: Marie tends to be amazingly blunt (see above). [[spoiler: Another thing Roger likes about her.]]
* DatingWhatDaddyHates: Emile is a Marxist. Megan is married to Don Draper, who does advertising (the epitome of capitalism) for a living.
* DirtyCommunist: Roger has this reaction when he hears about Emile's political affiliations.
* EvilParentsWantGoodKids: Not "evil", per se, but both Emile and Marie are both very spiteful and unhappy people, who nonetheless have raised a happy and functional daughter.
* FreudianSlip: After seeing Sally dressed up for dinner in a very Megan-esque outfit...
-->'''Emile:''' There is nothing you can do, Don. One day your daughter will spread her legs and fly away.
-->'''Roger:''' ''(laughs)''
-->'''Megan:''' Wings, Daddy. You mean wings.
* HappilyMarried: Marie [[spoiler:to Roger]] in "Person to Person".
* JerkassHasAPoint: They each have their moments, in "At the Codfish Ball" and "The Phantom", respectively. In the former, Emile convinces Megan to quit her unsatisfying job at SCDP and follow her dream. In the latter, when Megan has hit a wall in her efforts to pursue an acting career, Marie convinces her to use Don's influence to get work through nepotism. Thanks to this advice, she is a famous soap opera star by the beginning of Season 6.
* MamaBear: Marie [[spoiler:takes all of Don's furniture in retaliation for divorcing Megan.]]
* NiceHat: Marie has quite a number of them to match her outfits.
* PetTheDog: Emile, who has spent the entirety of the episode "At the Codfish Ball" wallowing pathetically in self-pity and resentment for all those around him, finally has a one-on-one conversation with his daughter in the final sequence, convincing her to follow her dreams.
* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: Marie, not that she's so much a senior (she's younger than Roger) but she is a piece of work, a grandmother, and she does insult people in French, as seen when she dines out with Don and Megan when they met with Mr. and Mrs. Rennet.
* SilverVixen: Marie looks young for her age and is fiercely attractive and sensual.

[[folder:Greg Harris]]
[[quoteright:149:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Greg-Harris-001_5362.png]]
->'''Played By''': Samuel Page

Joan's fiancé and then husband, a doctor. In the first episode in which he is featured (he is seen before briefly), he rapes her on the floor of Don's office, which she keeps a secret and hasn't mentioned since. He fails to get his residency when they planned, then joins the Army instead. [[spoiler:In Season Five, he and Joan have a huge fight and he files for divorce.]]

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* AmbiguouslyJewish: Harris -- like Miller and Siegel -- is sometimes but not always a Jewish name; Joan says he's not Jewish, but Roger thinks he "used to be".
* DisappearedDad: He hasn't been seen since "Mystery Date" and Joan stated that if she died, Kevin would live with Greg's parents or her mom; "Person To Person" reveals that he met a nurse, married her, and had twins and hasn't bothered to visit Kevin... and he's still unaware that he isn't the boy's biological father.
* {{Jerkass}}: He seldom thinks about anyone other than himself.
---> '''Joan:''' ''(about why he doesn't see Kevin anymore and if he knows about Joan and Roger)'' No. He's just a terrible person.
* HappilyMarried: The scene that's hardest to watch may not be the one in which he sexually assaults Joan and then acts like nothing happened, but rather the ones later on where they have every appearance of a normal loving relationship. The marriage does have more mundane low points. Joan's contempt for him for sucking at his job and {{wangst}}ing about it, a huge contrast to the professional life ''she'''s giving up to marry him -- which he doesn't even seem to realize. In Season 5, [[spoiler:this is finally subverted when Joan kicks him out of her apartment for good after he volunteers for a second tour of duty in Vietnam without her approval. While doing this, she also calls him out on raping her.]]
* MaritalRapeLicense: Takes Joan against her will whilst she's his fiancee.
* MarriedToTheJob: In season 4, he [[spoiler:signs up for another year in Vietnam without discussing it with Joan first]]; she is is less than happy.
* PetTheDog: He does have a few moments where he's quite nice and sweet to Joan, like in season 3 when he treats her cut. It's not enough to take the sting out of him being a rapist though.

[[folder:Katherine Olson]]
->'''Played By''': Myra Turley

Peggy's widowed mother.

* ApronMatron: A tough, middle-aged, stout, Irish Catholic, take no fools woman who can be harsh and critical of her daughters.
* BeehiveHairdo: Wears her hair in a similar style, was chosen for her by her hairdresser.
* BasementDweller: Some dialogue stated that she and her husband lived with Peggy's grandparents (likely implied to be her parents) until after Anita was born, judging by the ages of Anita and Peggy, it was UsefulNotes/TheGreatDepression and would have been harder for Mr. Olson to afford a house.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She is unpleasant and is responsible for her daughters' insecurities, but she really does love them.
* MyBelovedSmother: Has more than enough guilt for her daughters to partake in, she even made Peggy feel bad about wanting to move to Manhattan, acting like Peggy was moving to Nairobi rather than a train ride away.
* RacistGrandma: Played with. She seems to have a problem with Swedish people, and Peggy automatically assumes that she dislikes her relationship with Abe because he’s Jewish. Actually averted, though, it’s the co-habitation she disapproves of, not Abe’s Jewishness. Furthermore, Katherine is an Irish Catholic who married a Norwegian Protestant (for American-Irish Catholics in the early-to-mid twentieth century, the latter in particular would have been a big deal), she has half-Italian grandsons and she really likes Nat King Cole.
* WellDoneDaughterGal: It's lot easier to bathe a cat than to try to get any approval from Katherine.

[[folder:Anita Olson Respola]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/AudreyWasilewski

Peggy's homemaker older sister.

* SixtiesHair: She wears her hair in a less chic and slightly mussed updo.
* ApronMatron: She's pretty young for the trope [[YoungerThanTheyLook (despite her matronly look, she is about the same age as Betty and Joan who were born in the earlier part of the 1930s)]] but she has the strong-mindedness, well-knowing attitude, the homemaking and cooking skills, and the figure for the trope; however a few episodes imply that the toll of raising three boys, having a husband in and out of employment, and being a hostess to impress the priest and the neighbors can be hard on her.
* AwfulWeddedLife: Her marriage to Gerry looks to be that way in the Second Season and she is implied to envy her sister's single life, her marriage has seemed to have gotten better.
* {{Foil}}: To Megan's sister Marie-France, both are devout Catholic mothers with dissatisfying marriages and look down on their sisters' life choices. But Anita has evolved past her resentment of her sister, while Marie-France gets called out for being a "ghoul" who cannot see anyone make radical choices to gain happiness.
** To Joan, both have flaming-colored updos and wonder (often out loud) why Peggy is not following their line of choices. But Anita's path is less glamorous, more domestic, and the marriage is dissatisfying while Joan champions a more sophisticated, sensual, stylish femininity.
** To Betty, both are young housewives in dead end marriages with disapproving parents and have moments of resentment towards more modern women. But Anita lacks Betty's wealthy background, education, and [[HollywoodHomely isn't compared to movie stars]] like Betty (or even referred to as having a pretty face like their mother refers to Peggy), she does however learn to get past her resentment of Peggy and seems to be slightly more assertive to their mother, trying to carve out her own point of view rather than ape her mom.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Has this with Peggy, who works in Madison Avenue and lives the more "glamorous" single girl life and is a professional success while Anita stays home with three boys and a husband who is on the mend.
* GreenEyedMonster: Is very jealous and resentful of any (sometimes positive) attention Katherine and Father Gill give to Peggy, in retaliation, she tells Father Gill about Peggy being pregnant and even embellishes the story.
* {{Housewife}}: A more realistic one for that time. She stays home with three young boys at the house and hosts Sunday dinners; her day to day life is not very glamorous, with a husband with chronic back problems.
* KarmaHoudini: Anita never faces any sort of punishment for what she did to Peggy, but truth told only Father Gill and herself know it.
* MayDecemberRomance: Her husband Gerry looks a lot older than her.
* TheResenter: Is resentful to the point of hatred in Season Two of Peggy, because Peggy isn't as beholden to the repressive attitudes of their family and community, she gets over this by Season Three and is more supportive of Peggy and stands up to their mother.
* TheUnfavorite: In her way, while Peggy's choices are the subject of their mother's scorn, it seems to be implied that Anita [[WellDoneSonGuy doesn't receive positive feedback for her life choices]] and the look she makes when Katherine comments on Peggy's beauty seems to imply that she never got the same attention.

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[[folder:Pauline Francis]]
->'''Played By''': Creator/PamelaDunlap

Henry's Mother and Betty's new mother-in-law.

* AbusiveParents: Her father once kicked her clear across the room and said "that's for nothing".
* AccentuateTheNegative: She tends to have a negative opinion of everything and plenty of people. Heavy traffic on Thanksgiving? The country is being run to the ground because of divorce. Her new daughter-in-law trying to please her? She's a silly woman. One episode had Sally try to trick her into voicing her true, negative opinions of Betty and the Draper children.
* FatBitch: Very unpleasant and obese.
* GrandeDame: Upper-class, older, and serious.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Very unpleasant but she really cares for Henry and even for her step-grandchildrens' welfare.
* JerkassHasAPoint: She is not a pleasant person but her instincts about Betty are right on point.
* MyBelovedSmother: She is very involved in Henry's business and family, is implied to have been a controlling mother.
* ObnoxiousInLaws: She doesn't think very well of Betty, to say the least. She even had the gall to criticize Betty about gaining weight even though she is heavy herself.
--> She's a silly woman

[[folder:Cynthia Cosgrove (née Baxter)]]
->'''Played By:''' Larisa Oleynik
Ken's wife. Seems to move in the same Manhattan social circles as Trudy Campbell, with whom she gets along well.
* HappilyMarried: Cynthia and Ken are definitely this, in contrast to most of the other marriages in the show. She's very supportive of both his work and his hobby as an author, while he refers to her as his "life" and refuses to use her or her father to get business, in stark contrast to Pete. By season seven they have a son, Eddie.
* MinorMajorCharacter: Comes across as this. Ken often mentions her, but she only appears in five episodes.
* NoNameGiven: in-universe; when they're invited to a dinner party which the Cosgroves will be attending, Don and Megan find that neither knows her name. Ultimately played for laughs, as Megan shouts out "Cynthia!" when Ken eventually addresses her by her name.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Harris -- like Miller and Siegel -- is sometimes but not always a Jewish name; Joan says he's not Jewish, but Roger thinks he "used to be."

* RacistGrandma: Might appear to be this when she expresses surprise that the Jewish Abe eats pork and might have a problem with Swedish people; she is very amiable to Abe up until he and Peggy announce they are cohabiting and she was an Irish Catholic who married a Norwegian Protestant with half-Italian grandsons and really likes Nat King Cole.

* MinorMajorCharacter: Comes across as this. Ken who often mentions her, but she only appears in five episodes.
* NoNameGiven: in-universe; when they're invited to a dinner party which the Cosgroves will be attending, Don and Megan find that neither knows her name. Ultimately played for laughs, as Megan shouts out "Cynthia!" when Ken addresses her by her name.

->'''Played By''': Pamela Dunlap

->'''Played By''': Melinda Page Hamilton

->'''Played By''': Creator/RonaldGuttman and Julia Ormond

->'''Played By''': Audrey Wasilewski

->'''Played By''': Christine Estabrook

->'''Played By''': Ronald Guttman and Julia Ormond

* SpoilerSweet: She is a only child and her parents' little princess. She is usually kind and considerate but later seasons shows that she is used to get what she wants. Hers and Pete's biggest crisis starts when they move out of Manhattan and she really can't see that Pete is deeply unhappy with living in suburbs.

* YourCheatingHeart: Emile was caught crying to a female college student on the phone, though it's never made explicit the exact nature of their relationship. It's suggested that Mari knows about his occasional indiscretions and doesn't much care, but that him going to someone besides her for ''emotional'' support really hurt her. [[spoiler:Marie sleeps with Roger.]]

* [[LikeFatherLikeSon Like Father, Like Daughter]]: Lampshaded in the first season when Roger complains about how bratty she is, with Joan pointing out that she's only taking after Roger; she also turns out to be as self-centered as him.

* AmicableExes: Settles on this kind of relationship with Roger, as they have a daughter and a grandson together. [[spoiler: After his divorce with Jane]] he virtually has no other family.

* FootDraggingDivorcee: She refuses
to divorce Roger until she gets a lot of money from him after 20 years of marriage.

* FootDraggingDivorcee: She refuses to divorce Roger until she gets a lot of money from him after 20 years of marriage.

->[[center:[[Characters/MadMen Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/MadMenTheMain Characters The Main Characters]] | [[Characters/MadMenSterlingCooper Sterling Cooper]] | [[Characters/MadMenSterlingCooperDraperPryce Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce]] | [[Characters/MadMenCutlerGleasonChaough Cutler Gleason Chaough]] | '''Families''' | [[Characters/MadMenOtherCharacters Other Characters]]]]