Hello Kitty Turns 50, Revealing She’s Not Actually a Cat – Hollywood Life
It seems that the majority of people believed that kitty was a cat.
However, the iconic cartoon character, now marking its 50th anniversary on November 1, is actually not an animal but a little girl of the Homo genus.
On July 18, Jill Koch, the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Brand Management at Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty, revealed in six words that shook us, “Hello Kitty is not a cat.”
Adding to this, she shared more details about the character’s background, stating, “She’s actually a little girl born and raised in the suburbs of London. She has a mom and dad and a twin sister, Mimmy—who is also her best friend.”
Her full name is Kitty White. Surprising, right?
This revelation wasn’t the first time Hello Kitty’s true nature caused a stir. Back in 2014, around her 40th anniversary, similar news made headlines.
During that period, anthropologist Christine R. Yano, author of Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across The Pacific, was corrected by Sanrino about the distinction between cat and little girl while preparing for a Hello Kitty exhibit.
Yano clarified to the Los Angeles Times, “She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat. She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature. She does have a pet cat of her own, however, and it’s called Charmmy Kitty.”
Discussing the character’s London origins, Yano mentioned, “Hello Kitty emerged in the 1970s, when the Japanese and Japanese women were into Britain. They loved the idea of Britain. It represented the quintessential idealized childhood, almost like a white picket fence. So, the biography was created exactly for the tastes of that time.”
The Japanese company Sanrio introduced Hello Kitty in 1974. A year later, her image, along with her signature red bow, was featured on a small children’s coin purse priced at less than a dollar.
Since then, her expressionless yet adorable face has appeared on various products worldwide, captivating audiences of all ages and even inspiring scholarly research.