Mad Men Wiki
Katherine Olson
Portrayed by Myra Turley
First appearance Flight 1
Details
Gender Female
Relations
Child(ren) Peggy Olson
Anita Olson Respola


Biography[]

Katherine Olson is the mother of Peggy Olson.

Katherine often attempted to get Peggy to go to church. She was upset about her daughter's out of wedlock child and often prayed for her soul. ("Flight 1")

She was enthralled with John Gill's stories when he was a dinner guest at Anita Olson Respola's house. ("The New Girl")

She was broken up over the death of John F. Kennedy so much so that Peggy went into work to get away from the house. ("The Grown-Ups")

Katherine was witness to a fight between Peggy and her then-boyfriend, Mark. Mark was throwing a surprise party for Peggy with her entire family present. Peggy thought about leaving, but called the restaurant, telling him that she would not make it. Katherine told Peggy over the phone that Mark was "crestfallen" and that she was disappointed with her. Mark then wondered why he would bother being nice to her and broke up over the phone. ("The Suitcase")

In the commentary track for Season 4, creator Matthew Weiner says Peggy's family is Roman Catholic because her father was a Norwegian-American Lutheran who intermarried with Katherine, an Irish-American Catholic, and raised their children in Katherine's faith.

Mad Men Characters
Don Draper's Past Don DraperAbigail WhitmanArchie WhitmanAdam WhitmanMack JohnsonLieutenant Don DraperAnna DraperPattyStephanie Horton
Don Draper and Hofstadt Family Betty HofstadtSally DraperBobby DraperGene DraperGloria MasseyEugene Hofstadt
New York Suburb residents CarlaGlen BishopHelen BishopFrancine HansonArnold WayneSuzanne FarrellEdna Keener
Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency employees Roger SterlingBertram CooperJoan HollowayHarry CraneFreddy RumsenSalvatore RomanoKen CosgrovePaul KinseyHerman PhillipsBurt PetersonGreta GuttmanHollisJimmy BarrettWarren McKennaDaleBobbie BarrettRoger Sterling, Sr.
Sterling Cooper secretaries Peggy OlsonJane SiegelAllisonHildyLois SadlerMarge
Sterling Cooper clients Rachel MenkenLee Garner, Jr.Elliot LawrenceConrad HiltonAnnabelle MathisCrab Colson
Campbell Family Pete CampbellTrudy VogelBud CampbellTom VogelJeannie VogelJudy CampbellAndrew Campbell
Olson Relations Anita Olson RespolaKatherine OlsonJohn GillGerry RespolaMark KearneyJoyce RamsayAbe Drexler
London residents Lane PryceAlec MartinSaint John PowellGuy MacKendrickHarold FordJohn HookerRebecca PryceRobert Pryce
Francis Family Henry FrancisEleanor FrancisPauline Francis
New York City residents Beth DawesHoward DawesMidge DanielsJennifer CraneJim HobartMargaret SterlingMona SterlingKitty RomanoWalter EmersonBethany Van NuysCynthia CosgroveGail HollowayGreg HarrisRuth HarrisKevin HarrisMorris Ginsberg
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce employees Faye MillerStan RizzoMichael GinsbergJoey BairdDanny SiegelMargie KochBill Mitford
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce secretaries Ida BlankenshipDawn ChambersScarlettCarolineSandy Schmidt
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce clients Herb RennetBob FinleyThomas FillmoreAkira TakahashiHachi Saito
Calvet Family Megan CalvetEmile CalvetMarie CalvetMarie-France Calvet
New York residents Sylvia RosenJuliaPhoebe
Cutler, Gleason, and Chaough employees Jim CutlerFrank GleasonTed ChaoughSmitty SmithKurt SmithNan Chaough
Affair partners CandaceJanineToni CharlesJoy
Other characters Lyle EvansDavey KelloggJim HobartPerry DemuthJack HammondRalph Stuben