Her character probably has the longest presence in the entire
series besides Son Goku. She met Goku in the opening of the series and had
adventures together ever since. Her character played a more significant role
during the Dragon Ball series which slowly faded to the background in the Dragon
Ball Z series.
During the Dragon Ball and Early Dragon Ball Z series, she had always been
expected to settle down with Yamucha. To everyone's surprise, she married Vegeta
and even had a son (and subsequently a daughter at the end of the series) called
Trunks.