Top 22+ Iconic Characters Inspired by Real-Life Figures

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

It often feels like fiction and real life have nothing in common, but that isn’t always the case. You’d be surprised to know how many beloved fictional characters were actually inspired by real-life people. More often than not, real life can be so much more interesting and creative than anything we can conjure in our imagination. If you want to see what we mean, here are 20 iconic pop culture characters who were based on real-life people.

#1: Mary Poppins

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Known for her catchphrase, Mary Poppins is the fun-loving, super-cool nanny we all wished we had when we were kids. She can fly with her umbrella, after all! The movie version of Mary Poppins that most of us know and love is based on a series of books by P.L. Travers. Travers was an Australian-British writer, and her Mary Poppins stories are more than just fairy tales.
Travers based her iconic Poppins character on her childhood memories of her feisty great-aunt, Aunt Sass. Travers remembered her Aunt Sass as being very strict but loveable. She was a “bulldog with a ferocious exterior” but was actually sweet and kind behind the tough facade. Disney definitely made their Mary Poppins character much sweeter and sugarier, but that has created its own kind of magic in our hearts.

#3: Cosmo Kramer

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Kramer from Seinfeld is one of the most outrageous and hilarious neighbors ever to grace our screens (well, maybe grace isn’t the right word. Not many people have grace, after all!) You’d think no real person can live and act as he does! Played by the impeccable Michael Richards, Kramer just seems way too out of this world to be a real-world neighbor. But he wouldn’t be featured on this list if he wasn’t loosely based on a real-life person.
The character of Kramer was influenced by comedian Kenny Kramer, Larry David’s former roommate who used to live across the hall from him. IRL-Kramer seems to have been just as hilarious as Seinfeld Kramer. He was always starting new side hustles and hobbies, including making new inventions, managing a band, and really, really getting into hot tubs.

#4: Miss Piggy

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Miss Piggy is the most glamorous, dramatic Muppet out there. She’s fabulous and fashionable, and she knows it. The idea for Miss Piggy didn’t just spring up out of nowhere, though. Bonnie Erickson created and designed Miss Piggy and was inspired by the famous 20th-century singer and songwriter Miss Peggy Lee.
The Muppets creators were even going to name her Miss Piggy Lee as a joke, but Peggy threatened to sue as Miss Piggy’s fame grew. Miss Piggy was meant to be an homage to Peggy Lee, who was famous for her singing and independent personality. Sounds familiar?

#6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Ariel from The Little Mermaid is one of the most beloved Disney princesses. The film was a huge success when it came out in 1989, and it has continued to charm young kids who dream of mermaid princessdom. Ariel has the signature “Disney princess” look with her big eyes and perfect hair, but she’s not a complete figment of the imagination.
Rumors floated around for years after The Little Mermaid was released that the animators based Ariel on actress Alyssa Milano. The rumors were finally confirmed, and it’s said that animator Glen Keane drew inspiration from pictures of a young Alyssa Milano in order to learn what was considered attractive to young girls at the time. Alyssa Milano is beautiful, so we’d consider her beauty to be princess status.

#7: Magikarp

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Magikarp is a notoriously useless Pokémon, but this fish is worth the wait. They evolve into Gyarados, one of the most vicious Pokémon out there! People tend to make fun of this floppy Water Pokémon, but Magikarp has a pretty interesting origin story that few fans know about.
Magikarp is most likely modeled after the yellow rockfish, most commonly found off the United States’ West Coast. When you see the two side by side, the resemblance is uncanny. Just look at the yellow fins and the similar-looking gaping mouths! We’re not going to lie, though. Magikarp looks a little less terrifying than its IRL counterpart.

#9: Mo’s Bar

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

In The Simpsons, one of the funniest running gags is Bart’s prank calls to Moe. A lot of these jokes are gross, hilarious, and seem 100 percent original. In reality, though, this gag is a homage to a prank call bit that Matt Groening grew up listening to on cassette in the 1970s.
These tapes, called “The Tube Bar Tapes,” were a collection of prank calls made by John Elmo and Jim Davidson to the Tube Bar in New Jersey. Whenever they’d call up this bar and talk to the owner, Red, they’d ask to speak with fake customers with sneakily rude names. When Red figured out he was being played. If Groening hadn’t grown up listening to these guys, who knows if this gag would even exist on The Simpsons.

#10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Steve Buscemi’s character in Boardwalk Empire is a conniving, murdering bootlegger who will do anything to keep his power. This character, named Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, is very obviously based on the infamous Enoch “Nucky” Johnson. The real-life Nucky was a New Jersey politician and crime boss who controlled Atlantic City from the 1910s to the early 1940s.
While Buscemi’s storyline is much more dramatic than Nucky’s real life, he was still a powerful kingpin who ruled Atlantic City during Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties. While there’s no evidence that Nucky had anyone offed directly or indirectly, he got charged with tax evasion and served four years in prison.

#12: Dorian Gray

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde’s most famous literary work; most people know the story. A young man sells his soul so that a portrait of himself will age while he stays forever young. While Wilde himself said that Dorian Gray was a reflection of himself, there have always been rumors to the contrary.
There has always been speculation that the character of Dorian Gray was influenced by the poet John Gray. John was an acquaintance of Wilde because they ran in the same close-knit literary circles. John Gray tried his best to distance himself from these rumors, but they have stuck. Interestingly, he became a major figure in the Catholic Church later in life.

#13: Wahlberg’s Entourage

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

We love a good life-to-movie adaptation of an actor’s life, but a specific actor rarely has control over how their story is portrayed. Mark Wahlberg had the unique opportunity to have a show loosely based on his life when he became an executive producer of the HBO show Entourage.
The character Vincent Chase, played by Adrian Grenier, is directly based on Mark Wahlberg’s own experience with Hollywood. Much like Wahlberg’s early days, Chase experiences a sudden rise to fame and moves to Hollywood with his group of close friends. Entourage was originally going to be a documentary of sorts, but they changed it to fiction to make it more light-hearted.

#15: Abed Nadir

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Dan Harmon, the creator of the hit sitcom Community and animated series Rick and Morty, has pulled a lot of his inspiration directly from life experience. The whole concept of Community is based on his own experience attending Glendale Community College. One character, in particular, was pulled directly from Harmon’s life and put on screen.
Community’s lovable weirdo, Abed, is based directly on Harmon’s old community college buddy, also named Abed. Harmon even tried to get real-life Abed Gheith to play this specially-written role. In the end, actor Danni Pudi got the part, which was a great casting decision, but that would have been hilarious if Abed ended up playing himself.

#15: Winnie the Pooh

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Winnie the Pooh is a beloved bear character that has charmed kids and adults for decades. Even though this little bear with his red shirt is well-known, not as many people know his origin story. Winnie the Pooh’s creator, A.A. Milne, based his story on his son’s real-life childhood.
Milne based the characters of Winnie the Pooh on his own son’s toys, specifically a stuffed animal bear named Winnie. His son’s other stuffed animals were also the basis for the characters of Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger. His own son even got a special character named exactly like him: Christopher Robin.

#17: Daisy Buchanan

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the most well-known American novels; most of us read it in school. When people read about the character of Daisy Buchanan, many believe that this aloof character was based on Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda. In reality, Daisy may have been based on a previous, younger love of Fitzgerald’s.
Many people have drawn connections between Daisy and a woman named Ginevra King. Ginevra and Fitzgerald had a youthful romance for two years before she became engaged to another man. Her parents never approved of her romance with Fitzgerald, but they exchanged passionate letters despite (or maybe because of) this disapproval. It’s also rumored that Daisy’s husband, Tom, is based on Ginevra’s first husband, William Mitchell.

#18: Buzz Lightyear

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Everyone knows Buzz Aldrin as the second man to walk on the moon. But have you ever considered the uncanny similarity between the fictional character from Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear, and the real-life NASA astronaut?
Well, as it turns out, the naming of Buzz Lightyear wasn’t just a coincidence. The writers of the film franchise intentionally chose the name Buzz Lightyear for the famous character as a tribute to the one and only Buzz Aldrin. Seeing as Lightyear is meant to be an astronaut, we think this is very fitting.

#20: Cliff Booth

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

Quentin Tarantino is known for his outrageously graphic and almost accurate films. His films have been known to make many people uncomfortable, but they also draw in a large audience interested in seeing his artistic masterpieces.
In his film, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Tarantino based many of the characters within the movie off real people; however, it was Brad Pitt’s character, Cliff Booth, who had an interesting background. Hal Needham, a real Hollywood stunt double in the 1950s and 1960s, inspired Tarantino for Pitt’s role.

#21: Vito Corleone

#1: Mary Poppins, #3: Cosmo Kramer, #4: Miss Piggy, #6: Ariel from The Little Mermaid, #7: Magikarp, #9: Mo’s Bar, #10: Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, #12: Dorian Gray, #13: Wahlberg’s Entourage, #15: Abed Nadir, #15: Winnie the Pooh, #17: Daisy Buchanan, #18: Buzz Lightyear, #20: Cliff Booth, #21: Vito Corleone

We’re all familiar with the name Vito Corleone from the iconic mafia movie The Godfather (1972). While he wasn’t exactly modeled after one person, his character was modeled on real-life mafia bosses, mostly figures like Italian-American crime boss Frank Costello and Carlo Gambino.

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