Frieda (Peanuts)
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Frieda is a character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz. She made her debut on March 6, 1961, when Linus introduced her to Charlie Brown. She sat behind Linus in school, and although he considered her a friend, he also confessed that she was such a chatterbox, he hadn't heard a word their teacher said the whole semester. Her most prominent feature is her "naturally curly hair," which she manages to work into every conversation, to the dismay of those around her. She eventually joined Charlie Brown's baseball team as an outfielder, though she tends to be more interested in talking to fellow outfielder Lucy than she is in the game. She is the only player on Charlie Brown's team who does not wear a baseball cap. She believes a cap would hide her naturally curly hair.
Frieda often goads Snoopy into chasing rabbits with her, which he is always reluctant to do; once out of Frieda's sight he frolics and plays with the rabbits instead. Once, in a fit of frustration, she reported Snoopy's behavior to the "Head Beagle," which led to him being found guilty of not meeting his rabbit quota and left the neighborhood kids mad at her for turning him in. Snoopy's dislike of Frieda is compounded by her owning a cat named Faron, whom she frequently carries around in her arms. Faron was named for country-western singer Faron Young, but only made a few appearances in the strip. Schulz was dissatisfied at his own drawing of a cat; also, he did not realize until Faron had been introduced that since Snoopy never speaks out loud but only in thought bubbles, the only way to have him interact with Faron would have been to have them "thinking at each other".
Frieda was a regularly-featured character in Peanuts throughout the 1960s, but as newer characters were phased in towards the end of the decade she began appearing less often. Her last official appearance in the strip was on March 20, 1975, just over 14 years after her introduction, although unnamed girls who resemble her would occasionally pop up in later years.
According to Schulz, Frieda's character was inspired by his longtime friend Frieda Rich, a local artist that he met while taking classes at the Art Instructions School in Minneapolis.
