Rachel Menken

Reader's Guide

In the pilot Rachel rejects Don's idea of using coupons, saying she wants wealthier customers, and Don storms out of the meeting; Roger asks him to make peace, since she is worth $3 million. On the store's roof, where its patrol dogs are kept, she tells Don about her childhood, and he kisses her and then admits he is married. She asks for someone else on her account, and Paul Kinsey takes over.

After Roger's heart attack Don goes to Rachel's apartment, and they begin an affair that lasts several weeks; he tells her his mother was a prostitute who died giving birth to him. When Pete blackmails Don, he asks her to run away with him to Los Angeles. Rachel reminds him of his children, tells him he only wants to run away, calls him a coward and ends the affair.

In Season 2 Don meets her again and learns she has married Tilden Katz. In Season 7, after a vision of her, Don tries to reach Rachel and learns she died the week before; at her shiva he learns she had leukemia and two children.

Did You Know?

• Rachel gives Don a pair of medieval knight cufflinks.
• Don once gives his name as "Tilden Katz" to a bouncer.