Betty Draper | |
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Mad Men character | |
Betty Draper, as portrayed by January Jones.
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First appearance | "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (1.01) |
Last appearance | "Person to Person" (7.14) |
Created by | Matthew Weiner |
Portrayed by | January Jones |
Information | |
Nickname(s) | "Betty" "Betts" "Birdie" |
Aliases | Elizabeth Hofstadt (maiden name) Elizabeth Draper (first married name) Elizabeth Francis (second married name) |
Occupation | Housewife |
Family | Gene Hofstadt (deceased father) Ruth Hofstadt (deceased mother) William Hofstadt (brother) Gloria Hofstadt (step-mother) |
Spouse(s) |
Don Draper (1953-1964) Henry Francis (m. 1964) |
Children |
Sally Draper (daughter with Don Draper) |
Relatives | Judy Hofstadt (sister-in-law) Herman (deceased grandfather) Emma (deceased aunt) |
Don Draper (1953-1964)
Sally Draper (daughter with Don Draper)
Robert Draper (son with Don Draper)
Eugene Draper (son with Don Draper)
Elizabeth "Betty" Hofstadt Francis (formerly Draper) is a fictional character on AMC's television series Mad Men, portrayed by January Jones. The character's appearance is often compared to Grace Kelly.
Jones received two Golden Globe nominations and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance. She also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series twice along with the cast of Mad Men.
The character of Betty Draper was not originally part of the pilot episode, though she did appear in the pilot. The script established that lead character Don Draper was married, but only by a mention in dialogue, and there was no intention to show his home life. January Jones was instead initially considered, along with Elisabeth Moss, for the ambitious workplace character Peggy Olson; Moss was ultimately cast as Peggy. Show creator Matthew Weiner then wrote two scenes featuring Betty Draper, and Jones successfully auditioned for the part two days later. Although there were no full script or any plots written for Betty Draper at the time, Jones was promised by Weiner that the character would be developed.
Weiner has attributed Mad Men's visual style to the influence of film director Alfred Hitchcock, who featured a signature "icy blonde" female character in many of his films. Betty Draper's character has also been compared to that of Peyton Place's Constance MacKenzie: "cold, remote, and emotionally unavailable."