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The microscopic origins and the current predictions of the proxy-SU(3) symmetry model of atomic nuclei were reviewed. Beginning with experimental evidence for the special roles played by nucleon pairs with maximal spatial overlap, the proxy-SU(3) approximation scheme is introduced; its validity is demonstrated through Nilsson model calculations and its connection to the spherical shell model. The major role played by the highest weight-irreducible representations of SU(3) in shaping up the nuclear properties is pointed out, resulting in parameter-free predictions of the collective variables β and γ for even–even nuclei in the explanation of the dominance of prolate over oblate shapes in the ground states of even–even nuclei, in the prediction of a shape/phase transition from prolate to oblate shapes below closed shells, and in the prediction of specific islands on the nuclear chart in which shape coexistence is confined. Further developments within the proxy-SU(3) scheme are outlined.