<Tr> <Th> Family </Th> <Td> Eli Pope (father) Maya Lewis (mother) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Significant other (s) </Th> <Td> Edison Davis (ex-fiancé) "Fitz" Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III (ex-boyfriend) Jake Ballard (ex-boyfriend) </Td> </Tr> <P> Olivia Carolyn Pope is a fictional character portrayed by Kerry Washington (and as a child by Yara Shahidi), created by Shonda Rhimes and partially based on Judy Smith for the political drama television series Scandal . Pope is a Washington, D.C. - based crisis manager who runs her own firm, Pope & Associates, that specializes in political situations . The character has become a widely watched fashion and style trendsetter . </P> <P> 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 . On Scandal, she is a revered fixer who helped United States President Fitzgerald Grant (played by Tony Goldwyn) win office . Pope is a former lawyer and White House aide . Pope "thinks fast and effectively". Her delivery is through what The New York Times's Alessandra Stanley describes as admonitory, staccato sentences . Among her secrets is her affair with President Grant . Some of her employees have law degrees, but do not serve as lawyers . Instead, they are "gladiators in suits" who mollify or avert a wide array of crises . </P>

What does olivia pope do for a living