Joan P. She is portrayed by Christina Hendricks. She attended college in Boston. From season 1 through season 3 , Joan is the office manager at the advertising agency Sterling Cooper. Her primary responsibilities are to manage the secretarial, steno, and telephone operators pools; attend to the needs of the executives; and organize agency events.
She is also seen during meetings with the heads of departments, implementing Robert's Rules of Order , taking notes, and reminding the male staff of their duties to their clients, and assisting creative director Don Draper Jon Hamm and CFO Lane Pryce Jared Harris with Sterling Cooper financial duties.
Joan is also the original supervisor of Peggy Olson Elisabeth Moss , who starts at Sterling Cooper as a secretary and eventually becomes a copywriter.
Joan and Peggy do not get along at first; Joan is contemptuous of Peggy's demure attitude and conservative dress, while Peggy is intimidated by Joan's beauty and assertiveness.
Over the course of the series, however, the two become good friends, and support each other through their personal and professional struggles, with Joan being supportive of Peggy's evolution as a copywriter in the male-dominated culture of advertising. Joan is a hyper-feminine and charming woman, with a pragmatic view of sex and attraction. Though skilled in her career, her ultimate goal is to find a promising and devoted man to marry, and then become the strength and motivation supporting him behind the scenes as he achieves success.
