psm e mossv4 final lores

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Girl


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regime shes tackling to prep or her new

role. Apparently, chasing ctional crimi-

nals around New Zealand demands a good

deal more physical exertion than brain-

storming slogans or Sterling Cooper.

Along with clothes by avorite designers

Rag & Bone, Cushnie et Ochs and Oscar de

la Renta, shes valiantly trying not to bringeight pairs o high heels to New Zealand.

Im a total girly-girl, she conesses. I

have, you know, a million pairs o shoes and

a million dresses.

That chic sense o style is one o the

most arresting dierences between Moss

and Peggy, particularly given the charac-

ters earliest sartorial disasters. (Shirtwaist

dress and neckerchie, anyone?)

But aside rom begging the writers to slip

Peggy a little rouge as they do or the prim,

proper and beautiully blond Betty, playedby January Jones, or the buxom and proud

Joan, played by Christina Hendricks, Moss

applauds the humble look assigned to her

ambitious mid-century working girl.

I would much rather have an interest-

ing character to play, she says. I didnt get

into the business to be a model. I can get

dressed up and wear something sexy any

night o the week.

Moss Peggy has indeed become one o

the most interesting and celebrated emale

characters on television. A bright, striving

secretary rom Bay Ridge who ought tooth

and nail to become a copywriter with an

actual oce rather than a desk in the Xerox

room, Peggy is a rarity in the male-domi-

nated world o 1960s advertising.

Despite being routinely dismissed and

degraded (early on, a colleague compli-

ments her work in a pitch meeting by say-

ing it was like watching a dog playing the

piano,) and ghting o sexual harassment

(she successully calls the blu o a handsymale coworker who claims to be a nudist

by stripping down to her bra and undies

and insisting they both work naked), Peggy

lands increasingly important accounts

and starts standing up or her ideasand

hersel.

But because Peggy is arguably the most

career-ocused woman onMad Men, shes

oten perceived as more uptight good girl

than sultry sex pot.

Well, she slept with Peter, her boss, in

the pilot, Moss points out with a school-

girl giggle. [But] I think as women in the

workplace, were constantly trying to nd

a balance between being taken seriously

and eeling sexy and good about ourselves,

and that applies to actresses as well. I think

Peggy has really been struggling with that

balance or the last ve years.

Many ans o the show, in act, haveadopted Peggy as their eminist poster girl.

Or poster woman, as it were.

I think shes the truest eminist, Moss

says, her voice dipping to a serious register.

Its the eminism o, Hey, I just want to do

what I love, and I think I should get paid the

same amount or doing it i I do as good a

job as a man.

Strangers requently approach Moss on

the street to discuss strategies or breaking

into the oce boys club.

Ive had a lot o women my age comeup to me and say, That totally happened

with my boss. There are these boys busi-

ness trips that Im not invited on, Moss

recounts sympathetically. So yes, Peggys a

character o a specic time, but Ive tried to

make her identiable or women o any age

and o any period.

Moss considers hersel a eminist, too.

You know, i you believe that your ideas

should be respected and i you believe that

you have a voice, then youre a eminist,

she says beore taking a long sip o a Diet

Coke and then reapplying some NARS lip

gloss, one o her addictions.

As or the addictions inamously por-

trayed onMad Mensmoking, booze, ast-

talking menMoss is rereshingly rank.

No comment on the smoking, she

says with a wry smile. O course I drink.

Im not a big an o whisky or vodkaI

just dont like the taste. So Im just a beer

and wine girl. Im also kind o a light-

weight, so like, two glasses o wine and Iamgooood.

Her most decadent indulgence is sleep.

I will stay in bed till one or two easily. I

would spend all day in bed i I could.

Moss wont get into specics as to who

shed currently like to snuggle under the

covers with, but she admits to being a huge

firt who goes on dates and loves boys.

The 5-oot-3-inch actress is surpris-

ingly candid about (and clearly reveling

in) her single lie since ling or divorce

ater less than a year o marriage.

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Waiting or Elisabeth Moss on the rootop

o Hollywoods Sunset Tower Hotel, its

impossible not to conjure herMad Men

character, Peggy Olson: the mousy hair, the

dowdy dresses, the prickly bookishness.

But the rockabilly black boots that ap-

pear on the poolside terrace belong to an

entirely dierent creaturea thoroughly

modern Moss. Sporting cut-o jeans and atantalizing black tank, with a edora crown-

ing her chin-length hair, the 29-year-old

vibrates with sexy condence.

Wheres the pasty skin o the requently

maligned 1960s ad copywriter she plays

on TV? Or the sealed lips o the prim star

who wont say a word about her love lie, let

alone her whirlwind 11-month marriage to

Saturday Night Lives Fred Armisen?

Not on this rootop.

This glowing, dewy-aced woman is

eager to open up. Shes cheery, unny and

sincereany girl would long to be her BFF

(and ask i shes down or trading outts).

Moss pops some gum and a big grin, olds a

stylish pair o gold shades into her low-cut

top and dives into gabbing.

First order o business: the startlingly

voluptuous photo spread she just shot or

Page Six Magazine.

People will be surprised, she laughs. I

dont walk around in a Burberry trench coat

and bra all the time, but its un to embracethat part o yoursel. I think every woman

has a sexy, adventurous side.

Moss, who is o to New Zealand to star

as a detective in the new BBC miniseries

Top of the Lake, conesses shes eeling a bit

seductive these days.

Sometimes you just wanna wear some-

thin real tight and show it all o, she says,

blue eyes twinkling. Lately Ive been in

that mood.

Any reason shes eeling sorevealing?

Moss goes coy, mentioning only a tness


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Sometimesyou just wannawear somethin

real t ightand show it all off . Lately, I ve

been in thatmood.


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dierences, and their marriage was o-

cially dissolved in May 2011. At the time,

riends blamed the split on conficting

work schedules. But Armisen caused a stir

when he stepped out just weeks later with

his 23-year-old SNL costar Abby Elliott, a

relationship that zzled as well.I still havent been able to put things

together as a responsible adult, Armisen

admitted to Page Six Magazine in Decem-

ber 2010. I didnt have a girlriend until

my last year in high school.

This past January, Armisen told

The New Yorkerthat he has treated his

romantic relationships in a cold way

and reveres platonic riendships because

things dont become obligatory. Im not

thinking, Im doing this because youre

my girlriend.

Moss, or her part, hasnt said a word

about the divorceuntil now.

Its so hard to talk about, she says,

growing quiet.

One o the greatest things I heard some-

one say about him is, Hes so great at doing

impersonations. But the greatest imperson-

ation he does is that o a normal person. Tome, that sums it up.

She leans orward, chin in hands and

brow urrowed, as she condes all this in a

low, measured near-whisper.

And I think thatsthats it, she says,

releasing a drawn-out giggle-sigh. Ive

never told anyone that. And I dont want to

waste any more o my lie talking about it.

So does she keep in touch with Armisen?

Oh, God, no, she answers quickly.

In act, Moss says, she very much enjoys

being single and all that that brings, hersmile creeping wider. I obviously want a

partner in lie, and I want someone to grow

old with, but theres also a nice time when

youre young to enjoy being you. Its un to

go out at night and not know whats going to

happen, she adds cheekily. Im addicted

to and obsessed with my reedom in that

sense. Im having un!

As or what kind o guy qualies as un,

Moss enthuses without a trace o irony,

Sense o humor. This is so cheesy to say,

but to me, a guy that can make you laugh

is everything. When youre old and gray,

youre going to want someone who can

make you laugh.

An e yebro w-raising answer rom a

woman who marri ed a man b est known

or mimicking President Obama and Joy

Behar.

That said, Moss bounces back with

perect comic timing, a pretty ace in the

morning is lovely!

The most essential requirement or arelationship, Moss adds, is honesty, hon-

esty, honesty. (These last three words are

punctuated with a wary eye roll thats easy

to imagine is directed at Armisen.)

HerMad Men persona has experienced

a similarly rollicking romantic lie o late.

When last we saw Peggy, she had beriended

a bohemian lesbian, rebued advances rom

ormer fame Duck Phillips, broken up with

her conservative boyriend Mark Kerney

and slept with a counterculture political

writer ater pretending to be a virgin.

She and Armisen met in October

2008, when Moss dropped by or a

cameo on SNL the night herMad Men

costar and pal Jon Hamm hosted. Four

months later, Armisen and Moss were

awning over each other publicly.

[He makes me laugh] more thananything in the world, she said at the

2009 Grammys, with Armisen interrupt-

ing, She makes me laugh. No joke. She is

the unniest. Really? Thats so sweet!

she gushed.

The ill-ated pair were married in a

simple, private ceremony in Long Island

City in October 2009. (Moss appeared

on The View just 48 hours beore the big

day and didnt reveal a thing about it.)

Shocking ans, the pair separated eight

months later; Moss cited irreconcilable


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Its fun to goout at night andnot know whats

going to happen.Im addicted to

and obsessedwith my freedom.Im having fun!


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fromt

op:frazerharrison/gettyimages;carinbaer/amc

More personal and proessional ad-ventures surely await Peggy in the series

highly anticipated th season, which

premieres March 25.

I am ecstatic with what happens this

season, she says, lighting up. I think the

audience is going to be surprised. For me,

it was very meaningul with what hap-

pens to Peggy.

Moss considers or a moment, tugs

her edora and hints that Peggys lie may

nally be catching up to her own.

I started the show way more condent,way more wizened, way more aware o the

world around me than Peggy was, but over

the years shes caught up quite a bit, Moss

says. Weve managed to come closer and

closer together over the years.

To be sure, neither the actress nor her

signature character should be underesti-

mated as simple Susie Sunshines.

I like that Peggys called enigmatic.

She doesnt always do what you expect,

and people dont understand her. I think

thats true to lie. People have so many

dierent sides to them.

On set, Moss can oten be ound hanging

with Jon Hamm, whom she considers an

older brother (he few to London to watch

Moss in the playThe Childrens Hourlast

spring) or playing erce rounds o the

board game Sequence with the cast.

She waves o rumors that January

Jones has caused strie on the set. (Last

August, Jared Gilmore, 11, who had played

Jones son, said o the actress, Be careularound January. Shes not as approachable

as the others. Everyone else is so nice.)

Januarys really un, a cool girl and a

great mom. Shes got her head in the right

place. Everybody loves her, Moss insists.

When shes in New York, Moss crashes

at the Bowery Hotel and glides between

ancy lounges like the Boom Boom Room

and the closest dive bar in the East Vil-

lage. She reads her horoscope regularly

in the New York Postand, true to girly

orm, her avorite place to play hooky is

in the aisles o Sephora.

Its the greatest thing anyone ever did,

are you kidding? she raves. I go to the one

in Union Square. Moss takes giddy delight

in lipsticks, glosses, ace masks, exoliators.

She recently got hooked on Lumiere eye

cream and, sounding like a veteran ad exec,

exclaims, I love products!No surprise Moss enjoys colorul

experimentation; she grew up in L.A. in

a close-knit artistic amily. Her ather

manages jazz musicians and her mother

plays blues harmonica. She calls her writer/

musician brother, just 18 months her junior,

one o the most talented people I know.

The born-and-raised Scientologist (a topic

she declines to discuss) requently taps her

mom as a plus-one or awards ceremonies:

Shes thebest date. She makes sure Im

well ed and happy!A one-time child actress (she had a

recurring role on the TV drama Picket Fenc-

es), Moss graduated rom high school at 15

and opted to orgo college or roles like the

presidents beloved daughter, Zoey Bartlet,

on The West Wingrom 1999 to 2006.

Her own TV habits (besidesMad Men, o

course) include Friday Night Lights, Break-

ing Bad and every housewie show that

pops up on Bravoseriously all o them.

Not that she has much time or sitting

in ront o a television. For now, Moss is

ocused on her adventures in Kiwi coun-

try. Im staying there or ve months,

she says. Its almost my equivalent o

going backpacking ater college, [which]

I never got to do.

As or the uture, Moss hasnt decided i

she wants children. I have a tremendous

amount o respect or my mother, and it

makes me want to be a really great mother,

she says. And sure, in an ideal world I can

do it all. But I think or now Im too youngto know. You almost have to get older to un-

derstand that youre too young to know.

Her biggest wish or the next ve years?

Id like to be surprised.

As she gets up to leave, Moss glances

back playully, biting the tip o her tongue.

Im probably gonna get a slap on the

wrist, she says, reerring to this interview.

But Ive just been such a good girl. And

sometimes you just want to be a bad girl

or a minute.

Mission accomplished.

Moss, who says shes looking for a manwith a sense of humor, married and quicklydivorced funnyman Fred Armisen (top).

OnMad Men she plays copywriter PeggyOlson, a feisty feminist looking to play withthe big bad ad boys of Madison Avenue.

One of the greatest things I heard someone say about[Fred Armisen] is, Hes so great at doing

impersonations. But the greatest impersonation he doesis that of a normal person. To me, that sums it up.

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