Sally Draper
Don and Betty's eldest child, who grows up watching her parents' secrets.
Sally Beth Draper, played by Kiernan Shipka, is the oldest child of Don and Betty Draper. Her sixth birthday party, in May 1960, is shown in the third episode, and from Season 4 she is part of the main cast.
Quick Facts
- Portrayed by
- Kiernan Shipka
- Parents
- Don Draper, Betty Draper Francis
Reader's Guide
The death of her grandfather Gene Hofstadt hits Sally hard and widens the gap between her and Betty. She is adventurous: she mixes cocktails for her father, tries her mother's cigarettes and asks Don's colleagues about sex, and her behaviour leads Betty to send her to a child psychiatrist in Season 4. Sally is closer to Don, who calls her "Salamander", and in "The Beautiful Girls" she turns up at his office wanting to live with him. She also becomes friends with Glen Bishop, a neighbour boy Betty forbids her to see.
In Season 6 Sally sees her father with his neighbour Sylvia in "Favors", and Don's denial drives her to boarding school, where she becomes a troublemaker. She begins to forgive him after he shows the children the house where he grew up. When Glen joins the Army she shouts at him about the war, then regrets it. In 1970 Henry tells her that Betty is dying of lung cancer.
More in Characters & Personalities
Elsewhere in Mad Men
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced