Is ‘Titanic’ Based on a True Story?

With heartbreaking news of the missing tourist submarine — which took five people to the bottom of the ocean on an ill-fated expedition to the wreckage sight of the Titanic — a newfound interest in the tragedy that started it all back in 1912 has come to light.

The story behind the RMS Titanic — the ship that crashed into an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean more than 100 years ago, causing more than 1,500 fatalities — was iconically outlined in James Cameron‘s 1997 blockbuster hit, Titanic.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack, a third-class passenger sailing to New York City to start a new life, and Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater, a wealthy albeit emotionally vulnerable woman engaged to Billy Zane‘s insufferable character, Cal, in what’s one of the most infamous tearjerkers in movie history.

So is Titanic based on a true story? Were Jack and Rose real people? Here’s everything we know about the inspiration behind the beloved movie:

What is the plot of Titanic?

Titanic begins in the year 1996 as Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton) and his team search the shipwreck, hoping to find a diamond necklace — otherwise known as the Heart of the Ocean. When they stumble across an old safe holding a nude portrait of a woman sketched on the day the ship sank, they eventually get in contact with a now-elderly Rose, who recounts her story while aboard the Titanic.

In flashbacks to 1912, we learn that Rose fell in love with lower-class citizen Jack Dawson in just a few days of knowing each other. However, things take a heartbreaking turn for the worst when the ship hits an iceberg in the middle of the night, causing it to ultimately sink — and both Jack and Rose to enlist a battle for survival in the freezing cold waters of the Atlantic.

Is Titanic based on a true story?

In short, yes and no. Yes, Titanic is based on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, which set sail on April 10, 1912 and sank to the bottom of the ocean after hitting an iceberg on April 15, 1912. Yes, characters such as Margaret Brown (Kathy Bates), Captain Edward Smith (Bernard Hill), J. Bruce Ismay (Jonathan Hyde), Thomas Andrews (Victor Garber), and a plethora of others were real people. Cameron also included other small details that were true such as the band continuing to play even after the iceberg crash and the elderly couple choosing to spend their final moments together in bed after it was clear the ship would go down.

As far as what’s not real? We hate to disappoint but the love story between Jack and Rose is purely fictional. While there was a J. Dawson on the ship — whose first name was actually Joseph — it is merely a coincidence. Meanwhile, Cameron’s inspiration for Rose was American artist Beatrice Wood, who had no connection to the Titanic.