Who doesn’t know Hello Kitty – the world most famous and not to mention oldest cat! But so many has the misconception that she’s Japanese when in reality Hello Kitty was born in the suburbs of London on November 1, 1974. That makes her roughly about 37 years old today! Wow….but in Hello Kitty world, she always remains in third grade. Hello Kitty’s real name is Kitty White and she has a twin sister named  Mimmy White – the difference between them is by the color of their bow. Hello Kitty wears a red bow in her left ear while her sister Mimmy prefers a yellow bow on her right ear. The rest of her family are her father George White, mother Mary White, grandpa Anthony and grandma Margaret.

The history of Hello Kitty started when a Japanese company named Sanrio commissioned designer Yuko Shimizu to create a cartoon character that would appeal to the pre-teen  girls. Hello Kitty’s first appearance was on a coin purse wearing a red bow and blue overalls. She sat between a bottle of milk and a pet goldfish, and had her head turned sideways to face the world.

Hello Kitty First Appearance on a Vinyl Coin Purse

One of the most ask question about Hello Kitty is with regards to her mouth, or the absence of it. A spokesperson for Sanrio says that Hello Kitty is not normally given a mouth because “without the mouth, it is easier for the person looking at Hello Kitty to project their feelings onto the character” and that “the person can be happy or sad together with Hello Kitty.”

The irresistible vortex of cuteness that is Hello Kitty eventually built Sanrio a mutli-billion dollar empire that includes a wide range of products and even theme parks.  Today, Hello Kitty is an icon that has developed a highly devoted following around the world, even inspiring a new word to come into existence: kitira, it means someone who is a devoted follower of Hello Kitty. So are you the next kitira?

About the Designer

Yuko Shimizu is a Japanese designer born in Chiba prefecture and graduated from Musahino Art University. Since retiring from Sanrio in 1976, she has been working as a freelance designer. The other characters she has created include Angel Cat Sugar andRebecca Bonbon. She has also published some picture books.