Mandy Hampton

Madeline "Mandy" Hampton is a fictional character from the American serial drama The West Wing, portrayed by Moira Kelly. She is the White House media director during the first season of the show and the former girlfriend of Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, with whom she often clashes. A savvy political strategist and no-nonsense negotiator, the character is said to have been based on Mandy Grunwald, a real-life Democratic political consultant and media adviser who worked on the presidential campaigns for both Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. Moira Kelly said of her character, "She's a fighter in a difficult business and has a lot of strength." Although Kelly was a primary cast member during the first season, Mandy is featured less frequently as the season progressed; Aaron Sorkin said early on in Season 1 that he and Kelly had agreed that the character was not working out and that she would have less of a focus because she would not be returning for Season 2.