Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp

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Evil-doer
Full Name	Princess Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
Alias	Mother The Maestro of Marriage (both by Catherine)
Origin	The Great (2021)
Occupation	German Princess
Powers / Skills	Manipulation Seduction Charisma
Goals	Seduce Peter. Raise her children to become royalty (both succeeded). Prevent Catherine from reforming Russia (failed).
Crimes	Adultery Conspiracy Psychological abuse Child abuse Serial murder by proxy
Type of Villain	Manipulative Mother

“	Chew, little cat. Chew, chew, chew, but I will not stick around while you choke.	„
	~ Joanna to her daughter, Catherine.

Princess Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp is an antagonist in series two of the dramedy series The Great.

She is Catherine the Great's manipulative and dismissive mother, who seeks to seduce her husband, Peter III of Russia.

She was portrayed by Gillian Anderson, who also portrayed the Cat in Robin Robin, Queen Vorkana in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind and Blanche DuBois in the 2014 West End production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Personality

Joanna is a stereotypical narcissistic mother who is manipulative, dismissive, vain and thrives on the vicarious success of her children. She is able to deceive Catherine for the majority of her life until her death.

Physical appearance

Princess Joanna dresses in regency-period European regalia. She has white hair which is styled in a pouf, and often adorns it with jewellery.

Biography

Background

Joanna struggled in her childbirth with Catherine, and claims she almost died from her birth. Childbirth trauma is often a cause of narcissistic parenting, but it is unknown if this is the truth. Joanna also had two other daughters, Elisabeth and Auguste. Joanna's parenting style was solely to ensure her children became European royalty.

The Great

Joanna comes to visit her daughter who is now Empress of Russia. Joanna immediately begins to belittle Catherine by comparing her to the successes of her sisters' marriages. Joanna also firmly disapproves of Catherine's attempted coup against Peter, believing she should instead be an obedient wife and ruler. Joanna disparages the court for taking advantage of Catherine's naivety.

When meeting Peter, Joanna is intrigued by his personality, and makes a failed attempt at seducing him. After peanuts are introduced to Russia from America, she suffers an allergic reaction from them. Catherine's guilt leads her to become more dependent on her mother's approval. After Joanna presents Catherine a list of people that she must kill for Catherine to become a proper wife, including Aunt Elizabeth and Marial, Catherine's friends.

Joanna and Catherine discuss Catherine's desire to reform Russia and bring the Enlightenment to it. Joanna firmly disapproves, saying it will only end poorly for her, and that she will not support her when it does.

Whilst Catherine is distracted, Joanna again attempts to seduce Peter and is successful. They begin having sex, and when he moves her onto a window ledge, she falls from the top floor of the palace and is killed. Catherine believes that Peter killed her mother, and becomes resolute on killing him in return.