Bell-mère

Bellemere (ベルメール Berumēru) was Nami and Nojiko's adoptive mother, seen in a flashback during the Arlong arc.

Bellemere is mentioned for the first time by Nami while she is leaving Baratie restaurant to Arlong Park alone. But her first appearance only occurs during Nami's Flashback where she is formally introduced through infobox.

Appearance
Bellemere has red-purple hair, and a rather unique hairstyle similar to a mohawk (that Oda jokingly named "Women have guts!"). She wears a green checkered shirt with the word "MACE" on it, indigo trousers and brown sandals. She is also rarely seen without a cigarette. Back in her days as a Marine, she wore the simple uniform with the officer's jacket draped over like a cape.

Personality
In her youth she was a renowned trouble maker. Whilst her decision to join the Marines shocked all the villagers, they all cared deeply for her welfare despite the trouble that she had always given them. Due to her past, her decision to adopt her daughters led them to fear the children's own welfare. However Bellemere was determined to show them that she had grown into a mature adult who was capable of such responsibilities.

As a marine, Bellemere was quite confident, her reaction to Golden Leo Shiki's escape from Impel Down being to state that she'll stop him herself should he attack the East Blue. Her fellow marines note that she is very reliable, indicating she was likely a very effective member of the marines.

Bellemere retains some of her mischievous nature upon her return to Cocoyashi, offering to pay Genzo for Nami's thefts "with her body" (this most likely explaining where Nami got her personality from), despite knowing how he reacts. She occasionally acts impulsively, such as when she hits Nami for suggesting that Nojiko is not her real sister, and hits a boy for saying that her tangerines taste bad. She admits that Nojiko is sometimes more mature than she is.

Friends
She had an odd relationship with Genzo above all other villagers. She was able to manipulate him through a few seductive moves that leave him extremely embarrassed. Genzo knew her past and dubbed her the "Little Thug" in response to her troubles.

Nami and Nojiko
Her history gave her an advantage in dealing with Nami's own antics at times, however she could not change the fact that she and her daughters were not related by blood and therefore was unable to handle Nami rejecting her family completely. Nevertheless, she cared about her daughters deeply, she would give her daughters as much as she could afford to, often at her own expense. This was proven when times were harsh she ate only the fruit she grew in her grove, thus saving enough money to keep feeding her daughters on suitable meals and would lie about being on a "diet" to hide it. Her only regret she had was she could not give them everything they wanted in life. However, she loved them both as though they were her own. To this end, she died claiming Nami and Nojiko as her daughters even though pretending they didn't even exist would have protected the lives of all 3 of them.

History
Bellemere was a trouble maker throughout her entire life, causing everyone to refer to her as a "thug". They cared deeply for her well being despite her reputation and when she choose to join the Marines were completely shocked by her sudden decision. Though they tried to convince her to change her mind, she was set on fighting "bad" pirates. It is unknown what her rank was exactly, but a flashback shows her in an officer's coat, indicating that it may have been fairly high up.

Bellemere the Marine
One day she and fellow Marines were sent to an island to fight some pirates causing trouble there. The fight was bloody, leaving many dead and destroying the village which the two sides were fighting in. Bellemere lay wounded and dying, she decided that it was alright to let herself die there and then. However just as she was giving up and letting herself go, Nojiko appeared carrying Nami. Bellemere took the two back to her village (with Nami unaware of what happened).

Upon arrival, a storm had broken out over Bellemere's home island and the two children had grown ill. She insisted the two girls get treatment before her. Later after all three of them were better again, she asked the other villagers not to register the girls for adoption with the World Government. She declared (with many protests from the other villagers) that she was old enough and mature enough to look after the girls herself.

After the Storm
Bellemere lived on her tangerine grove in Cocoyashi on Commi Island with the girls. While Bellemere had very little income, she gave everything to her girls and survived by eating the tangerines she grew. One day Bellemere scolded Nami when she got caught stealing (Nami stole a book because she knew they could not afford it), shortly after Nami revealed to Bellemere why she stole the book - she was studying navigation. Bellemere applauded Nami's first drawing of the island as the first step of her dream to map the world and put faith into Nami that she really could do it. While Nami and Nojiko were growing up, Bellemere advised them that they had to be as strong as boys, and if they survived, good times would come.

In one year in which the price of tangerines fell due to a large supply, Bellemere had to eat only tangerines and give most of the food to Nami and Nojiko, but did not let on how bad the situation was to Nojiko and Nami. One day Nami was given one of Nojiko's dresses by Bellemere (who simply turned the sunflower on it into a lion) and Nami was offended. Nami wanted her own clothes not Nojiko's hand-me-downs. During the argument, Nami said she did not consider Nojiko a real sister because they weren't blood related, causing Bellemere to slap her. Nami then ran off, saying that she wished she were adopted by rich people. Bellemere realized she wasn't acting like an adult back there, she decided to spare some money and prepare Nami's favorite meal even though it would hit her budget. She sent Nojiko to fetch her while she prepared the meal.

Arrival of Arlong
That same day Arlong invaded the island and found her home, Bellemere tried to fend them off but was quickly subdued. When asked for the fee needed to stay alive, it turned out all the money Bellemere had would either save herself or her two daughters. Things would've been okay, as Arlong was unaware of the two girls' existence, Genzo urge her to pay for herself and keep quiet about the girls. When Bellemere declared the money she shocked Genzo by stating the money was for her daughters, as she would rather have died than not call herself a mother. To that end, Arlong shot her right in front of the eyes of her two adopted daughters, but not before Bellemere apologized to Nami for not being richer, and not being able to buy the girls whatever they wanted, but the two insisted that it was not the case and urged her to stay alive. Before Arlong executed her, she told her girls "I love you."

After her death, her advice that "If you can survive, then happy times... lots of them... will come your way" encourages Nami to work to buy Cocoyashi Village from Arlong, believing that once she freed the village, she could pursue her dream and find happiness.

Anime and Manga Differences
Both in the manga and in the anime, Bellemere is shot by Arlong. However, in the anime, she's shot in her chest, while in the manga, she's shot in the head.

Translation and Dub Issues
Belle-mère is French for "stepmother" and may also mean "beautiful mother".

Although Bellemere's role in the story was very important, in the 4Kids English version of the Anime, Bellemere's role was toned down to being merely a background character, removing the flashbacks in which she gives Nami and Nojiko encouragement to be strong as girls and persevere in hopes of better times. Arlong's gun was edited out by enlarging his hand to make it appear as if he was pointing at her and his text was changed so he implied that she will be sent to a dungeon. She still dies in the 4Kids dub since Nojiko mentions her dying when she meets Usopp. However, the references to her being shot in front of her daughters is completely unreferenced.

The word "MACE" was removed from her shirt and all images of her smoking were erased ("Mace" is a slang term for Hallucinogens). When first attacking Arlong, she wields a shovel instead of a gun, but holds it in the same way.

Merchandise
Bellemere has been the choice character in many forms of merchandise. She has been featured in the series of models Portrait of Pirates. She was issued alongside Nami in a One Piece Block Figures set featuring the Straw Hats and their past mentors/loved ones.

Trivia

 * In a recent Japanese Fan Poll, Bellemere is currently ranked the 40th most popular character in One Piece.
 * She is the first former Marine to be introduced in the series. She is also the first female Marine to be introduced.
 * While still a Marine, Bellemere was wearing the Marine's jacket that is commonly seen on officers ranking no lower than Captain, suggesting that she was a high ranking officer.
 * Bellemere is similar to the french word "belle-mère", which means stepmother.