Tolkien’s wife, whom he partly based into the character Lúthien, was Edith Tolkien.
Edith Bratt married J.R.R. Tolkien in 1916, and they remained together until her death in 1971. Tolkien’s relationship with Edith influenced the story of Beren and Lúthien, one of the central romances in his mythology. He associated Edith with Lúthien and himself with Beren.
Tolkien’s account of the inspiration emphasized a moment when Edith danced in a woodland clearing near Roos in Yorkshire. The image became connected in his imagination with Lúthien’s dancing in the story. Tolkien later had the name “Lúthien” engraved on Edith’s gravestone, while “Beren” appears on his own.
The comparison does not mean Lúthien is a literal biography of Edith. She is an immortal Elf with extraordinary powers, while the connection is a personal and symbolic one rooted in Tolkien’s marriage.