Wilma Flintstone is a fictional character in the televisionanimated seriesThe Flintstones. Wilma is the red-headed wife of cavemanFred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, and mother of Pebbles Flintstone. Her best friend is her next door neighbor, Betty Rubble. Wilma's personality is based on that of Alice Kramden, wife of Ralph Kramden on the 1950s television series The Honeymooners. Much like Alice, Wilma plays the strong-willed, level-headed person in her marriage, often criticizing Fred for pursuing his various ill-fated schemes. Wilma is often the one to bail out Fred when one of his schemes lands him in trouble or brings up the problem.
Similar to Fred Flintstones family, Wilma came from "Arkanstone" . As a young adult, Wilma worked with Betty as a cigarette girl at a resort. There, they first met and fell in love with their future husbands, Fred and Barney, who were working there as bellhops. Wilma and Fred eventually married, and Wilma became a homemaker, keeping house with such prehistoric aids as a baby elephantvacuum cleaner and pelicanwashing machine. Wilma is a good cook; one of her specialties is "gravelberry pie", the recipe for which she eventually sold to the "Safestone" supermarket chain. Wilma also enjoys volunteering for various charitable and women's organizations in Bedrock, shopping, and occasionally getting to meet the celebrities of their world, including Stony Curtis, Rock Quarry, and Jimmy Darrock. Despite her petite appearance Wilma is quite capable of causing havoc when angry, at times knocking a prizefighter out with one blow, knocking out crooks with her stone purse or striking Fred Flintstone with a club or a frying pan. In the original series' third season, Wilma becomes pregnant and gives birth to the couple's only child, Pebbles. When Pebbles is a teenager, Wilma gains employment as a reporter for one of Bedrock's newspapers, the Daily Granite, under editor Lou Granite. While employed there, Wilma shares various adventures with prehistoric superheroCaptain Caveman, who, in a secret identity, also works for the newspaper. Later still, after Pebbles grows up and leaves home, Wilma starts a successful catering business with her neighbor and friend Betty, before becoming a grandmother to Pebbles' twin children, Chip and Roxy.
Maiden name
Wilma's maiden name is the subject of a continuity error. Several early episodes in the original series clearly stated Wilma's maiden name was "Pebble". In the second-season episode "The Entertainer", Wilma's old friend Greta Gravel remembers her as "Wilma Pebble", and in the third-season episode "Dial S for Suspicion", one of Wilma's old boyfriends, calls her "Wilma Pebble". However, later episodes and spin-offs firmly state her maiden name is indeed "Slaghoople", based upon the name of Wilma's mother in the original series, Pearl Slaghoople. Flintstones' writer Earl Kress explained the discrepancy as such: "Unfortunately, it's just as simple as not caring about the continuity."
