Olivia Carolyn Pope is a fictional character created by Shonda Rhimes for the political drama television series Scandal.

[6][7] Pope is loosely based on Judy Smith, who served as George H. W. Bush's Deputy Press Secretary and represented Monica Lewinsky during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal.

[8][9] On Scandal, she is a revered fixer who helped United States President Fitzgerald Grant (played by Tony Goldwyn) win office.

[13] Although the show does not touch upon race that often, regarding her much publicized affair with Grant, Pope once said "I'm feeling a little, I don't know, Sally Hemings-Thomas Jefferson about all this.

[12] Among women of all races, Washington's Pope is in the stark minority as a female protagonist of a television series who are "emotionally strong, professionally powerful, and personally complicated".

[17] Paolo attempted to make Pope stand apart from the black, gray and dark blue colors of DC by outfitting her in "chic pastels" going so far as to put her in pink pants or Louboutin shoes at times.

[18] Some of her most respected wardrobe pieces are from notable fashion houses such as Ferragamo, Burberry, Gucci, Armani, Prada, Valentino, Tory Burch, and Michael Kors.

[23][24][25] Time describes her as "a real-world lifestyle tastemaker", pointing out that the Crate & Barrel wine glasses that she drinks from on the show sold out at the store.

[11] However, the entire first season is strung together by Olivia's management of the Amanda Tanner case about "a former White House staffer who claims she’s had a relationship with the President and is carrying his baby".

[19] Maureen Ryan of The Huffington Post wrote "Washington does a good job of carrying every story along in her energetic wake, and even if Scandal isn't quite as instantly addictive as Grey's Anatomy..."[49] Washington's simultaneous "emotionally and intellectually acute" presentations are usually showcased in a "fast-talking...eloquent, pointed ... ultimatum (or two) to a client or a nemesis balking over a deal."

[50] McNamara also says "Olivia Pope is not just the ultimate fixer, she also manages to work only on the side of the angels," although she has the sole flaw of loving the married president.

[50] Slate critic Troy Patterson describes her as intellectually comparable to contemporary protagonists Adrian Monk and Gregory House due to her genius powers of intuition, which enable her to judge guilt and veracity by scales in her gut.

However, Patterson compares her emotionally to Roy Lichtenstein's romantic subjects such as Drowning Girl despite her angelic swagger and chutzpah.

[51] Staff writer David Hiltbrand of The Philadelphia Inquirer, calls Pope "one of the strongest (in every sense) female characters to hit prime time in recent memory".

[53] David Dennis of The Guardian stated that Pope was "a home wrecker" and expressed disdain for the character's lack of morals.

"[54] Writer Meghan Gallagher of The Artifice considered Pope to be groundbreaking for being among the "first female antiheroes to grace primetime television."

She also compared Pope to Tony Soprano, and stated of the character's strengths and weaknesses: "[S]he is a powerful and brilliant woman whose own scheming ambitions get the better of her.