Who is the character of Beatrice based upon?

The historical Beatrice Portinari (1266-90) was the daughter of Folco Portinari, a wealthy Florentine, and the wife of Simone dei Bardi.In his Vita Nuova (NewLife), Dante claims to have met and fallen in love with her when they were about nine years old. The Vita Nuova consists of love poems Dante wrote to Beatrice, which he connected with prose commentaries.