Eliza (from Lisson Grove, London) is a Cockney flower woman, who comes to Professor Henry Higgins asking for elocution lessons, after a chance encounter at Covent Garden. Higgins goes along with it for the purposes of a wager: That he can turn her into the toast of elite London society. Her Cockney dialect includes words that are common among working class Londoners, such as ain't; "I ain't done nothing wrong by speaking to the gentleman" said Doolittle.
Doolittle receives voice coaching and learns the rules of etiquette. The outcome of these attentions varies between the original play and the various adaptations (see the Pygmalion article).
The character of Eliza Doolittle was likely inspired by the real story of Eliza Sheffield (1856–1942), a barmaid in London who rose through the ranks of society in the late 19th century through marriage, various relationships, and forgeries.

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