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Super Kawaii!
Theworld’s favoritemouthless cat is 41 years old.
Despite having been around for four decades, and having
her likeness reproduced on somany items of clothing,
stationery and household goods, there is a lotmore to
knowabout this cat...that is not actually a cat!
Hello Kitty has her own
theme park, airline, restau-
rant, music album, dental
clinic andmaternity hospital.
To the English speaking
world she is Hello Kitty.
Created in Japan, her full
name is Kitty White and her
backstory says she lives in
London with her family.
Over 22,000 Hello Kitty prod-
ucts exist today, and Sanrio
(the company that produces
her) creates 100-200 new
products each month.
Kitty is not just for young
girls anymore. Sanrio now
produces motor oil, smart
cars and wine.
Sanrio has not managed to
create any other characters
that match Hello Kitty’s
popularity.
On the occasion of her 35
th
anniversary, Sanrio and cre-
ator Yuko Shimizu designed
a customHello Kitty doll with
19,636 encrusted diamonds.
She has a twin sister called
Mimmy. To differentiate
them, Mimmy wears her
bow on her right ear, Kitty
on her left.
There is speculation that she
was originally supposed to be
a boy. Apparently Mimmy
calls her ‘Onni-chan’, which
is Japanese for ‘older brother’.
The first Hello Kitty product
that was ever sold in Japan,
in 1974, was a vinyl coin
purse.
She made her TV debut in
1987. Prior to this, Kitty only
existed as an image on vari-
ous merchandise.
Hello Kitty is not a cat! Ac-
cording to a Sanrio represen-
tative, Kitty is a little girl, not
a cat. She does not walk on
all fours, she has two legs and
even has a pet.