Photo Reproduction/Fleischer Studios/Warner Bros. Television Distribution
The character Olivia staff was created by Elzie Crisler Segar for the sailor comic Popeye. She is described as a disjointed and headstrong young woman, ranging in age from her late teens to 26 years.
Popeye’s lover is a thin woman with long dark hair tied in a bun. In the cartoon, his appearance was slightly changed, but retained the same characteristics.
Segar died in 1938, but the strip continued to be produced by writers and illustrators including his former assistant Bud Sagendorf. Popeye is described as a sailor always trying to protect his girlfriend from the clutches of the terrible Brutus.
When he eats spinach, he gains super strength, leading Brutus to attempt to sabotage the vegetable cans in a few episodes of the cartoon.
The characters were inspired by real people as mentioned on Wikipedia. Elzie Segar knew a man named Frank “Rocky” Fiegel in Chester, Illinois who had a habit of telling stories boasting about his extraordinary accomplishments.
Olivia would have been inspired by Dora Paske, a warehouse owner in Chester. Like the character, she was also thin, tall, and in the habit of wearing her hair in a bun.
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Brazilian illustrator Bruno Moura used his drawing skills to create a realistic artwork of Popeye’s love. Using artificial intelligence, the artist reworked Olivia’s look so that she looks hilarious and identical to the animated series.