10 Pop Culture Figures Who Actually Existed

From Darth Vader to Mary Poppins, pop culture icons can excite, enrage, or inspire us. And though most characters tend to be wholly fictional in nature, some famous ones are actually based on real-life people. Here’s our list of 10 pop culture figures who existed IRL.

Related: Top 10 Underrated Minor Characters from Pop Culture

10 Don Draper (Mad Men)

If you haven’t seen Mad Men (2007–2015) yet, do yourself a favor and watch it right now. The legendary period drama about mid-20th century advertising agents and the “mad men”‘ who run the business is legendary for a reason. Don Draper, the series’ main character, has become one of TV’s most beloved characters. However, few people know that he is based on a real person.

Even if you don’t know Draper Daniels, the man, you know his work. He was one of the most influential admen of the 20th century. He was one of the foundational figures behind the Marlboro man and helped push Marlboro cigarettes to become one of the world’s leading cigarette brands. Don Draper of Mad Men was also based on him, as the showrunners wanted to create a character with Daniels’s signature charisma and confidence. Even the names Don Draper and Draper Daniels are very similar.^[1]

9 Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)

The film Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) was a huge financial and cultural success, endearing millions to the sassy charm of Holly Golightly and Audrey Hepburn. The film, which launched Hepburn’s career, was based on a book of the same name by Truman Capote of In Cold Blood fame. Continuing his tradition of taking influence from real life, Capote based Golightly on real-life socialist Gloria Vanderbilt.

Born into the illustrious Vanderbilt family, Gloria Vanderbilt was a well-known fashion designer who made her own brand line of clothes catered to the upper class. Her most well-known factoid might be that she was involved in a very famous child custody case between her mother and aunt. Her sense of high fashion and taste gave Capote a direct influence when creating the iconic Golighty.^[2]

8 Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)

It is no overstatement to say that Harper Lee is probably the most beloved Southern American writer of all time. Written on July 11, 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird is the novel the author is most famous for. It is an eviscerating critique of racism and systemic injustices that flows with biting prose word to word. Atticus Finch is the hero lawyer of the story who defends a Black man falsely accused of a heinous crime in court. Some readers might not know that Finch was actually based on Lee’s own father, Amasa Coleman Lee.

Like Finch, Amasa was also a lawyer who practiced law in Monroe County and also edited for local newspapers. By 1927, he was elected as Alabama’s House Representative. Amasa was driven to fight for justice and preserve the integrity of the law at every step, much like Finch. Given his legal vigor and influence, it is no wonder she became the base for one of literature’s best characters.^[3]

7 The Dude (The Big Lebowski)

The Dude probably needs no introduction. Serving as the main protagonist of the Coen Brothers’ mega-hit classic The Big Lebowski (1998), The Dude is a hilarious and crass layabout who goes through a series of wild circumstances with plot threads as nonsensical as the premise itself. Jeff Bridges did a fantastic job bringing this character to life, and his performance is even more noteworthy, considering the character was based on film producer-activist Jeff Dowd.

You may not know Dowd, but his work as a producer and activist is fairly important. He has produced such movies as FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) and Zebrahead (1992), and was part of the protest group the Seattle Liberation Front. He and several other members of the group known as the “Seattle Seven” were arrested frequently during the Vietnam War for their anti-war protests. Eventually, the Coen Brothers would use his personality and biographical details to form the basis of The Dude.^[4]

6 Italian Mafia Patriarch Vito Corleone (The Godfather)

If you ask anyone who is the most famous mobster in all of cinema, they’ll say Vito Corleone. Corleone is the central figure of both The Godfather book by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola’s groundbreaking movies of the same name. As head of the Corleone Crime family, Vito clawed his way to the top from nothing but the clothes on his back. With bottomless drive and swagger, Corleone’s portrayal is nothing short of breathtaking, and much of it comes from a real-life infamous mobster named Frank Costello.

Born on January 26, 1891, Costello was head of the infamous Luciano Family, which was one of the most powerful crime syndicates in American history. Costello ran numerous bootleg operations during prohibition and was engaged in plenty of racketeering. He was eventually arrested for contempt and tax evasion and served five years in prison. His legacy would live on as an influence through Puzo’s iconic character.^[5]

5 Logan Roy (Succession)

Created by Jesse Armstrong in 2018, Succession was one of the funniest comedy dramas on television. The story followed the all-powerful Roy Family, which owned one of the largest corporate empires in the world. The family’s head patriarch, Logan Roy, played by Brian Cox, has received critical acclaim for his strong characterization and dynamic acting performance. Some fans may have already noticed that Logan Roy’s characterization is based on real-life news tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch is the single most successful media magnate in history. His company, News Corp, owns hundreds of publishing companies like The Sun, Sky News, and most famously, Fox News. Murdoch has six children who are currently locked in their own succession fight over who gets to inherit the media empire, much like the TV show. Armstrong himself even wanted to make a Murdoch documentary but ultimately canned the project to work on Succession.^[6]

4 Chef Boyardee’s Principle Inspiration

Whether you love him or hate him, Chef Boyardee is here to stay. He’s the mascot behind the somewhat maligned mass-produced food product line of the same name. Products like Spaghetti-O’s, Beef Ravioli, Spaghetti & Meatballs, and others are among the most popular. Most folks might not know that Chef Boyardee was real and that his name was Ettore (Hector) Boiardi.

Born on October 22, 1897, Boiardi was a mastermind Italian-American immigrant chef who came to America in 1914. Boiardi quickly established himself in upscale restaurants across NYC and even served dinner for Woodrow Wilson once. Eventually, he started pre-packaging his famous spaghetti sauce in bottles to sell to hungry patrons, which gave him the idea for the Chef Boyardee product line. The product line was created in 1928, gaining popularity in the following years. He named it Boyardee to help Americans pronounce his last name more easily.^[7]

3 Snow White

If you didn’t already know, most of Disney’s classic movies like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White are all based on fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm. Snow White, in particular, is one of the most well-known fairytales in the world. The original tale had all the iconic elements like a magic mirror, seven dwarves, a poisoned apple, and an evil queen. Snow White herself was most likely based on the details of real-life Countess Margaretha von Waldeck.

Born in 1533, Countess Waldeck was the daughter of Count Philip IV, whose family ruled over Waldeck and Pyrmont (part of the Holy Roman Empire and then the German Empire). Many of Waldeck’s own life details mirror that of Snow White’s, like her having an awful stepmother, being strikingly beautiful and of fair skin, and rumors of her dying from a poison assassination. Waldeck’s father also had copper mines that were worked almost entirely by children, which could translate to the seven dwarves. Waldeck also once made a journey through Siebengebirge, which means “Seven Hills” in English, mirroring Snow White’s journey through the seven mountains.^[8]

2 Mary Poppins

What is there to not love about Mary Poppins? The iconic English nanny was the brainchild of Australian-British writer P.L. Travers, who first wrote and published the Mary Poppins book series in 1934. The stories follow a magical nanny who flies from home to home with her umbrella and cares for unruly children. Walt Disney made a film adaptation of the books in 1964 called Mary Poppins. Here’s a fun fact for Poppins fans: the British nanny was based on Travers’ great-aunt Helen Morehead.

Morehead had much in common with the flying umbrella caretaker. For one, both women were exceedingly graceful and full of warmth. Travers recalled Morehead, or “Aunt Ellie,” as a firm woman who was open to fanciful imagination and whimsy. This eloquently describes the Poppins stories best, as the books are stern lessons for children wrapped in whimsy and soft kindness.^[9]

1 Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

Although Danish author Hans Christian Andersen first wrote the original The Little Mermaid was created and written by storytelling geniuses John Musker and Ron Clements. It has since gone to unimaginable success, smashing multiple box office records and stealing Academy Awards for both Best Original Song and Best Original Score. Ursula, the villain of the movie who tricks Ariel into an evil deal, became one of Disney’s most iconic villains. There’s also a reason for her over-the-top flamboyance: She was based on drag queen performer Divine.

Divine was an actress in her own right, having been in movies like Hairspray (1988) and Polyester (1981). Both Ursula and Divine look fairly similar in appearance down to their makeup, hairstyle, and body shape. Divine was also known for her high theatrics and good old-fashioned sass, much like Ursula’s stage presence in the film. Sadly, Divine died on March 7, 1988, but her legacy will live on forever through cinema.^[10]