Soon Betty became one of Daniel's most trusted friends, constantly keeping him out of trouble, jail, and even once saving his life when his girlfriend, Reneé, proved to be a sociopath.
Betty was at first discriminated against by most of her colleagues due to her lack of fashion sense, but as she proved to be kind, they ceased to mock her as much.
Retakes his job back after sales plummet but in an arrangement by Claire now shares co-EIC duties with Wilhelmina Slater.
A respected figure in the fashion industry, she was passed over in favor of Daniel Meade for the Editor-in-Chief job at Mode after the death of Fey Sommers; she initially plotted to gain control on Mode by undermining Daniel's authority, often taking advantage of his inexperience.
Alexis and Wilhelmina's partnership later crumbled as Alexis reconciled with her brother; Wilhelmina then set her sights on seducing Bradford, manipulated him into divorcing Claire (the true owner of Mode) with the hope of marrying into the Meade family as a way to gain control of Mode.
She then resorted to using Bradford's sperm (which Wilhelmina obtained immediately after his death by bribing a debt-ridden doctor) to produce a child in hope of claiming a substantial stake in the Meade empire; she intended to carry the child herself, but complications of a "hostile womb" led her to enlist Christina as a surrogate.
She was a sales representative for Herbalux Cosmetics until the company went under; after this she pursued a career in cosmetology and opened her own beauty salon.
Amanda Tanen Sommers, played by Becki Newton, is initially hostile to Betty because she'd taken the job that Amanda was gunning for; along with Marc, she'd find ways to make Betty's job difficult—misplacing memos, "forgetting" to pass along messages, and being nasty in general.
With this discovery, Amanda began a quest to find her biological father, as well as capitalize on her connection to the fashion legend to attain fame and respect.
Marc St. James (né Marcus Weiner), played by Michael Urie, is the series' secondary antagonist.
Like Amanda, he was initially hostile to Betty but later became 'frenemies' when they were in danger of losing their jobs, as well as pretending to be a couple when Marc's overbearing mother visited.
His love of fashion and musical theater and flamboyant attitude has brought up questions over his sexual orientation, but his family is supportive of his interests.
After Santos' tragic death in "the first season finale", Justin was dealing in his own way while his mother was still taking care of him, running the salon, meeting new lover interests.
Christina is something of a social rebel, openly defying and even mocking the absurd beauty standards that Mode supports; in spite of this, no one dares fire her because she is the only one who has full knowledge of the magazine's inventory of ultra-chic designer clothes and seems to be the only seamstress capable of altering said clothes to fit whatever model or editor needs them at any given time.
Christina admitted that she emigrated from Scotland five years prior to the first season, after abandoning her alcoholic husband Stuart.
Stuart would later track Christina down at Mode, where he revealed he had severe liver damage and only had a few months to live, unless he secured the funds for an experimental treatment.
She became a famous fashion designer in London and introduces Betty to Mr. Dunne who is a publisher and was last seen in Hilda's bachelorette party.
Their schemes fall through as Alexis reconciles with Daniel and even attempts to make peace with her father until she finds out that he is plotting to get her out of the country.
Upon Bradford's death, she and Daniel fight for control of Meade Publications, which they settle through a paintball game in the Mode offices.
She briefly sides with Wilhelmina by giving her the editor-in-chief role, but she changes her mind and reinstates Daniel after sales plummet.
They eventually broke up when Walter decided to accept a new job in Maryland; the split was amicable as they both admitted they had been drifting apart for a long time.
Claire Meade, played by Judith Light, is a recovering alcoholic, she was upset over Bradford's numerous infidelities, especially over his twenty-year-long affair with former Mode editor Fey Sommers.
She had admitted to Betty that she killed Fey and attempted to leave the country in order to evade murder charges, but then turned herself in.
Now free, she soon found herself bored and neglected by her children; after meeting with other women with similar feelings of restlessness, she was inspired to start up her own magazine, entitled Hot Flash.
In order to make Betty realize what she is missing, Matt takes a job as managing editor at Mode.