Behind every high-flying director or executive is a personal assistant who works around-the-clock to make their boss look great—even in TV and movies! Assistants feature heavily in many films and have shaped the way lots of people think of permanent PA jobs.
As London’s leading PA recruitment agency, we’ve been inspired by some of the most renowned assistants, so here’s our rundown of some of the best personal and executive assistants from the world of TV and film.
Miss Moneypenny – Bond Films
One of the most famous personal assistants in the fictional world of film is the ever-changing Miss Moneypenny, who works for the Secret Service. She’s a highly capable assistant to M, 007’s superior, and she’s proven herself to work amazingly well in high-pressured environments. Though the flirty office romance she shares with James Bond might come across well on-screen, but rarely translates to real life…
Peggy Olsen – Mad Men
Ambitious Peggy started out as the secretary to Don Draper, big-time advertising executive at the central Sterling-Cooper agency. She went above and beyond when working for Don, and her efforts were soon recognised—she eventually became a chief copywriter at the firm, working on enormous pitches to famous clients. She’s definitely one of our favourite personal assistants!
Donna Paulsen – Suits
Donna worked as an executive assistant to high-flying lawyer Harvey Specter for more than twelve years, proving there was no catastrophe she couldn’t handle. Over the course of the legal series, Donna shows herself to be much more than ‘just a PA’—she’s one of the brightest minds at the law firm, and her efforts to seamlessly keep things together are never overlooked by her peers.
Waylon Smithers – The Simpsons
Mr Smithers kicks the stereotype that most personal assistants are women—in fact, he’s probably one of the most famous PAs in pop culture! He is incredibly loyal to his boss, Mr Burns (even when his employer makes some questionable decisions), even to the point of trying to get his job back after Mr Burns becomes self-reliant. Smithers is certainly one of the most faithful assistants in TV!
Emily Charlton – The Devil Wears Prada
It can’t be easy working for the film equivalent of notoriously strict Vogue editor Anna Wintour. But Emily Charlton pulls it off with aplomb, enduring Miranda Priestley’s occasionally cruel behaviour with total professionalism. Emily is always busy, and though she comes across as superficial in the film, she always gets the job done, whatever it may be. (Shout-out to Anne Hathaway’s character Andrea in this film, who is faced with the daunting task of acquiring an unreleased Harry Potter manuscript on behalf of her boss!)
So who’s your favourite famous PA?
Feeling inspired by these awesome assistants? PA recruitment agency Love Success has a plethora of permanent and temporary PA jobs and opportunities available—get in touch with the team today to find out more.
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