Gillian Darmody (played by Gretchen Mol), is the owner and madame of The Artemis Club brothel. She is the mother of Jimmy Darmody and is raising his son, Tommy Darmody as though he is her own. She is maintaining the pretense that Jimmy is alive to retain access to his assetts. She is a former showgirl dancer at the Cafe Beaux Arts.
Biography
Background
At the age of thirteen, while appearing in a "Neptune's Bounty" parade, Gillian caught the eye of political boss Commodore Louis Kaestner. His right-hand man, Sheriff Nucky Thompson, brought Gillian to him that evening for a sexual encounter that resulted in her becoming pregnant.
She fell asleep at the party and being carried upstairs to Kaestner's room. She later awoke to find The Commodore raping her. ("What Does the Bee Do?") The Commodore never acknowledged the boy as his, so Gillian raised him on her own with the help of her showgirl friends. The Commodore did buy her a necklace as a gift. She was forced to sell the necklace for rent money while raising Jimmy. It is also implied in a story Jimmy told that she served as a mistress to several wealthy men, as he said his mother had "a lot of friends" and he was often sent off on his own while she was with them.
Nucky took a close interest in both Gillian and Jimmy, and looked after them both over the years. While his role with Jimmy was more of a father-son relationship — at one point he was grooming the young man to be his successor — his relationship with Gillian is murky. Gillian and Jimmy had an incestuous relationship before he left to fight in World War I.
Season 1
- Main article: Gillian Darmody Season 1
Season 2
- Main article: Gillian Darmody Season 2
Season 3
- Main article: Gillian Darmody Season 3
Relationships
Family
- Jimmy Darmody: Son, lover (deceased)
- Angela Darmody: Daughter-in-law (deceased)
- Tommy Darmody: Grandson
Personal Life
- Lucky Luciano: Lover
- Commodore Louis Kaestner: Former abuser / father of her son, Jimmy (deceased)
- Nucky Thompson: Political rival, former pimp, murderer of Jimmy
Racketeering
- Meyer Lansky: Associate
- Al Capone: Associate
- Mickey Doyle: Associate
- Richard Harrow: Associate
- Eli Thompson: Associate, Atlantic County Sheriff
- Leander Cephas Whitlock: Adviser
- Manny Horvitz: Associate (deceased)
Staff
- Langston: Butler
- Louanne Pratt: Former housemaid to Kaestner
Victims
- Jimmy Darmody: Incestuous sex victim
- Commodore Louis Kaestner: Ordered death, killed by Jimmy Darmody
Memorable Quotes
- Gillian: "I was under the impression that you could do anything"
- Nucky: "I'm not God, Gillian."
- Gillian: "Now you tell me." ("Broadway Limited")
- (to Angela, about Jimmy) "You know, when he was a baby and I would change his diaper... I used to kiss his little winkie." ("21")
- "I didn't spend my life getting groped by a bunch of drunks to wind up in a goddamn poorhouse." ("What Does the Bee Do?")
- Eli Thompson (to Gillian): "Jimmy and you. That's exactly... the two of you, and... him?! None of that is normal. It never was!" ("What Does the Bee Do?")
- (to The Commodore, after being paralysed by a stroke) "Do you remember when we met? I'll never forget your smile. Jimmy sometimes, he has it. I look at him and I see you. That first night, how you plied me with wine... Why, I'd never felt such a sensation. We were downstairs. And I'd fallen asleep on the divan. You carried me to the bedroom, went to say good night to your guests. And I laid there in bed, dreaming of the waves. I'd been on the beach that day. Suddenly I felt a crushing feeling. I couldn't breathe. I opened my eyes to find you atop me. Your breath smelling of whiskey and tobacco. One hand covering my mouth and the other groping at me. Do you remember that? Still, sometimes when I sleep, it wakes me with a start. Do you remember that night? (Gillian slaps The Commodore) I asked you a question." (Gillian slaps him repeatedly) ("What Does the Bee Do?")
- Angela Darmody: "You know, most women are proud to be called a grandma"
- "Yes well, not while the peaches are still in season" ("Anastasia")
- (to Lucky Luciano) "Maybe he's up your ass. Have you tried looking there?"
- "I'm feeling just the tiniest bit greasy." ("Sunday Best")
- "You belittle my business. Break bread with my enemies..."
- Lucky: "Who the fuck you think you are?"
- "My dearest James, I am compelled to write to you due to my constant concern over expenses, which are more than I can bear alone. I miss you terribly every day. Life is nothing without you and there is no one who understands me. Please. Please. Please come home. Your eternally devoted mother." ("You'd Be Surprised")
Appearances
| Season one appearances | |||
| Boardwalk Empire | The Ivory Tower | Broadway Limited | Anastasia |
| Nights in Ballygran | Family Limitation | Home | Hold Me in Paradise |
| Belle Femme | The Emerald City | Paris Green | A Return to Normalcy |
| Season two appearances | |||
| 21 | Ourselves Alone | A Dangerous Maid | What Does the Bee Do? |
| Gimcrack & Bunkum | The Age of Reason | Peg of Old | Two Boats and a Lifeguard |
| Battle of the Century | Georgia Peaches | Under God's Power She Flourishes | To the Lost |
| Season three appearances | |||
| "Resolution" | "Spaghetti and Coffee" | "Bone for Tuna" | "Blue Bell Boy" |
| "You'd Be Surprised" | "Ging Gang Goolie" | "Sunday Best" | "The Pony" |
| "The Milkmaid's Lot" | "A Man, A Plan..." | "Two Imposters" | "Margate Sands" |