50 fearless, confident, all around badass women on television

Photo: AMC

Peggy Olson – Mad Men

Peggy Olson may have started out as just a secretary, but the glass ceiling couldn’t hold her. As Don Draper’s Girl Friday, Peggy learned the ropes and pretty soon she became as much of a contender as any of the other men. Elizabeth Moss telegraphed poise and strength into Peggy, and women every where are the better for it.

Fighting sexist conventions of the 1960s and ’70s, Peggy had to constantly fight off the patriarchal notion that she was nothing but a pair of legs in a skirt. She moved up the corporate ladder quickly, and she did it while suffering a crippling amount of prejudice and sexism.

Peggy was a groundbreaking female character not only in her career, but in her personal life. She sought out birth control when doing so was considered “slutty,” and she explored her own sexuality with toys and men. She was a confident and ambitious women in a time when those adjectives were used to describe women in a negative and nasty way.

Also interesting and radical, Peggy and Don remained platonic friends throughout their time together. Their relationship was built on mutual respect and integrity, and he never expected her to cross a line she didn’t feel like she should. Peggy held her own in every aspect of her life.