Václav Havel made no secret of the fact that, despite the diversity of personalities and family environment as well as all the usual problems of life and crises, Olga meant a lot to him.

He appreciated how quickly this seemingly ordinary young woman from Žižkov became a part of the Prague intellectual environment of the 1950s and '60s, that she was an attentive first reader and critic of his essays and dramatic works, a valuable supporter and collaborator in the difficult years of Charter 77, as well as a lifelong partner.

Later on, when Václav Havel was gradually losing not only a possibility to find a job but also some contacts and friends in Prague, the couple moved to their cottage and practically lived there until November 1989.

Following the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 until the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Václav Havel could not publish openly in his home country, theatres were not allowed to stage his plays and he was gradually pushed out of the public cultural activities and became one of the most prominent dissidents.

As a fighter against continuously intensified totalitarian regime, he was persecuted by the secret police (Státní bezpečnost),[4] he was often detained, interrogated and imprisoned.

In the difficult years of insecurity, persecution and imprisonment of her husband, Olga fully and with joy used the opportunity to escape from the difficulties of everyday life by joining Hrobka (Tomb), the circle of friends organizing various humorous activities.

Olga soon became one of the organizers of a diverse range of cultural and social activities and thus she returned to her creative interests from the years of amateur theatre.

In 1987, Olga co-founded Originální Videojournal, the samizdat video news magazine which documented the activities of dissent in pictures and informed about the present political and cultural situation in Czechoslovakia openly.

In late 1985, she initiated a magazine O divadle (About Theatre), and as a member of the editorial staff she helped mainly with economic and production issues.

The main objective of the Committee of Good Will - Olga Havel Foundation (OHF) was to help people with disabilities, abandoned or discriminated against, with their integration into society.

Olga Havel visited emerging centres for children with multiple disabilities to inquire what could make their life easier.

She met outstanding personalities in and outside Europe; together with Christiane Herzog, wife of German President, she organized help for children with cystic fibrosis.

People stood in a long queue to honour her, laid flowers in the chapel at the south wing of Prague Castle, and signed a condolence book.

In 1997, Olga Havel was in memoriam awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk for outstanding contribution to democracy and human rights.

Books by Pavel Kosatík or Marta Marková, the tribute anthology Síla věcnosti (Power of factuality) describe her life.

In 2010, a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the building where the Committee of Good Will is located (Prague, Senovážné náměstí 2); since 2012, a new street in Žižkov-Vackov bears the name of Olga Havel.