Peggy Hill
Encyclopedia : P : PE : PEG : Peggy Hill
The wife of Hank Hill and the mother of Bobby Hill in the animated series King of the Hill, voiced by Kathy Najimy. She is also the paternal aunt of Luanne Platter. She is a substitute Spanish teacher at Tom Landry Middle School and a freelance writer for the local newspaper, the Arlen Bystander.
Biography
Born as Margaret J. Platter in Montana to cattle ranchers in 1959, she moved to Texas for high school. Her mother was extremely critical of her, while her father was aloof and spoke in obtuse nature metaphors. (These portrayals of her parents, from the episode "A Rover Runs Through it", are actually a retconned version differing quite noticeably from the homemaker mother – and presumably equally suburban father – displayed in flashbacks in earlier episodes, I Remember Mono and Transnational Amusements Presents: Peggy's Magic Sex Feet. In fact, the suggestion in the later episode is that Peggy left her parents behind when she went to Texas, which is a significant alteration). She was extremely self-conscious about her unusually large feet. In one episode she has to drive to Lubbock (which it seemed was a long way from Arlen) to buy a new pair of size 16 shoes, but in another she just went to a specialty store nearby. In that episode, after being informed by a clerk that she now needs a size 16 and 1/2, and that she quite possibly could reach the "Big 2-0", she is approached by a woman who gives her the card of a man who will make her feel "secure" about her huge feet. It turns out he was a fetish producer displaying her feet on the internet. By episode's end, Peggy comes to accept her large feet (in one episode she wins a fight against Luanne's mother thanks to her oversized feet). Peggy unseated Cissy Cobb as the Boggle champion of Texas. She claims to be very intelligent, though is often naive. Interestingly, Peggy's "intelligence" swings wildly, depending on the situation. Her Spanish (she pronounces "buenos dias" as "buenos DIE-as", with an English accent) is one of the series' running jokes, and would make her appear to be something of a simpleton. She is also unaware of how poor her Spanish is, claiming she is fluent in it and can "roll her R's perfectly," However, in several episodes, Peggy has saved the day through some quick thinking, as in the episode where she finds the loophole in Robert's Rules of Order that allows Hank to filibuster a town meeting to prove his point about low-flow toilets. Similar scenes occur in the aforementioned Cissy Cobb episode, when Peggy wins with a 16-letter Boggle word, and in an episode where she gets the Alamo Beer company (a series staple) to recall a batch of tainted beer. Peggy once ran for the school board, along with Minh Souphanousinphone and Nancy Gribble to save the after-school program. However, as the episode continued, Peggy, Minh, and Nancy began to turn on each other to win. In the end, they all lost to a Christian zealot, who plans to get rid of biology, geometry, the after-school program, and all "offensive" encyclopedias. After not having seen her parents for years, Peggy went to Montana at the request of her mother to see her childhood home one last time. To save the ranch from Henry Winkler, and in an attempt to win her mother's favor, Peggy was able to locate an old law that allowed them to transfer their cattle through the main street of town. Afterwards, Winkler allows them to use his land for their cattle drive. In what appears to be a moment between mother and daughter, Peggy expects a warm thank you from her mother but is instead blamed for the whole thing, her mother saying it would have never happened had she stayed on the farm and married the wealthy rancher she choose for her. Peggy leaves accepting the fact the her relationship with her mother is soured realizing instead that she should be focusing on her relationship with Bobby.Character
As the series progressed increased emphasis was put on Peggy's superiority complex and her egocentricity, making her out to be a parody of a liberated feminist. She frequently aggrandizes her own accomplishments which is often unintentionally fueled by others (such as her continual recognition as substitute teacher of the year). Her belief that someone can do anything if they put their mind to it often leads her into trouble when she takes the philosophy too literally; she often literally believes she can do something which she has no skill or background in doing. It is perhaps not the fact that Peggy thinks so highly of herself, but in her assumption (and expectation) that everyone else thinks equally highly of her, which leads her into predicaments. In one episode, Peggy assumes that an actor is madly in love with her and wants to have an affair with her not because of anything he does, but because of her presumption that she herself is irresistible. She also has the habit of using the phrase "in my opinion" when stating well known facts. She also has a problem of stating facts that are not true in any way such as "Swiss Cheese is not Mexican, it's American." According to the official King of the Hill website, she also thinks Nolan Ryan is an author (he is actually a former baseball player). Furthermore, much to Hank's chagrin, she has a tendency to "baby" Bobby, and she in turn resents Hank's close relationship with the family dog Ladybird. Proud and egocentric, in later episodes she tends to come off as arrogant and a know-it-all, and quite often has to be taken down a peg (no pun intended). Although she once became extremely jealous that Hank kissed, or rather was kissed by, another girl (from whom he caught mono) in high school before they were married, and persecuted and alienated him for it, she was forced to confess in a later episode to have lost her virginity to a gay male friend, which angered Hank and he in turn alienated and persecuted Peggy for misdeed as well as her hypocrisy. She also was the last on the block (except for Dale Gribble and Joseph Gribble) to realize Joseph's true parentage, and would have told him, but for a last-minute change of heart upon seeing Dale and Joseph interact and realizing that sperm may make a man a father, but a heart makes him a dad.Trivia
- She claims her IQ is between 170-180, but admits to Hank that it is only her "estimate."
- Peggy drives a light brown four-door Buick Regal. She was apparently very proud when she rolled over its odometer.
- Her song lyrics were "stolen" by country singer Randy Travis, though Mr. Travis (who was a guest star in the same episode) claims to have written them independently.
- Peggy's parents (particularly her mom) were changed drastically in the episode "A Rover Runs Through It." In earlier episodes, Peggy's mom was a homemaker who often criticized Peggy about her homemaking skills. Her father was never seen until this episode. Her mom's appearance was also drastically changed (she originally looked like an older version of Peggy). This episode implies that Peggy left her family when she went to Texas. In earlier episodes, Peggy and her mom kept in touch by phone, having gone to Peggy's house at one point. In episode 302 (And They Call It Bobby Love) it is revealed that Peggy's mom is on the Hills' speed-dial (Hank replaces the number with Mr. Strickland's in the episode).
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|---|---|
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| Hills and Platters: | Hank | Peggy | Bobby | Luanne Platter | Cotton | Tilly | Ladybird |
| Gribbles: | Dale | Joseph | Nancy |
| Souphanousinphones: | Kahn | Minh | Connie |
| Other characters: | Boomhauer | Bill | John Redcorn | M. F. Thatherton |
| | |
| Miscellaneous: | Alamo Beer | Manger Babies | Mega Lo Mart | Strickland Propane |
| Media: | King of the Hill DVDs | List of King of the Hill episodes |
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