Meet the real Rosie the Riveter, who was unknown until a yearslong investigation revealed her identity

• Rosie the Riveter is one of the most iconic images in pop culture history.
• For 30 years, Geraldine Hoff Doyle was believed to be the inspiration for Rosie the Riveter.
• An investigation in the 2000s found that another worker, Naomi Parker Fraley, inspired the image.

Rosie the Riveter is one of the most famous symbols of the feminist movement, but it took years to accurately identify the worker who inspired the iconic image of a woman flexing her bicep.

For three decades, Geraldine Hoff Doyle was widely acknowledged as the inspiration behind Rosie the Riveter. 

However, an investigation conducted in the 2000s revealed that Naomi Parker Fraley, who worked at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, was the true inspiration behind the image.

This International Women’s Day, here’s the story of the real-life Rosie the Riveter and how her identity was eventually uncovered.