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I remember as young girls, my sister and I would make a beeline for the Hello Kitty display when our mother took us to Bullock’s—a favorite department store in Scottsdale, Arizona—for an afternoon of shopping. The little white cartoon cat with a mouthless, expressionless face was just so cute! We loved buying Hello Kitty stationery, plush toys, and other products. Just seeing Hello Kitty made us happy.
Hello Kitty could be my third sister in a fictional cartoon world. She was “born” in 1974—just a year after me—and 2024 is Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary.
Let’s celebrate five decades of Hello Kitty bringing joy to all, and especially to those of us with an affinity for cats! (Although, Hello Kitty is not, ahem, technically a cat; read on for details.)
Hello Kitty History
Sanrio, a Japanese company that began in 1960, created Hello Kitty in late 1974. A year later, the company introduced the character with her signature red bow to the world with a Hello Kitty children’s coin purse, a small item that sold for less than a dollar.
According to Sanrio, Hello Kitty was born in the suburbs of London. She lives with her parents and her twin sister, Mimmy, who is Hello Kitty’s best friend, along with her teddy bear named Tiny Chum. She loves baking cookies, traveling, reading, socializing, and eating her mother’s apple pie. Hello Kitty’s motto is: “You can never have too many friends!”
Sanrio’s Hello Kitty site is chock full of merchandise—more than 1,000 Hello Kitty items! If you can name it, you can probably find it in the Hello Kitty brand: plush toys, stationery, paper plates, shoes, suitcases, jewelry, and the list goes on. You can even snag a 2024 Limited Edition 50th Anniversary plush Hello Kitty before the item sells out.
Here are seven fascinating facts about Hello Kitty.
1. Hello Kitty Is Not a Cat—She’s a Little Girl
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Say what? Since when have girls had pointy ears and whiskers? And what about the name Hello Kitty? So what gives? I have a hard time buying this, but Sanrio claims Hello Kitty is merely a catlike cartoon little girl.
In 2015, when a Hello Kitty exhibit opened at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, curator Christine R. Yano shared with the Los Angeles Times that Sanrio clarified the character’s species before the exhibit opened.
“That’s one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show,” Yano said. “Hello Kitty is not a cat. She’s a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend. But she is not a cat.”
Yano pointed out that Hello Kitty, indeed, is never shown walking on all fours like a cat. But still—she looks like a cat and is called Hello Kitty! I am in agreement with the backlash that came from fans after this revelation, and I vote for continuing to view Hello Kitty as a cat, rather than getting stuck on technicalities. For what it’s worth, the cartoon little girl’s full name is Kitty White, and her birthday is November 1, 1974.
2. Hello Kitty Became Animated in the 1980s
Hello Kitty’s first television role came in 1987 with the animated show, Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater. Other shows since then include the long-running Hello Kitty and Friends, Hello Kitty’s Paradise, The Adventures of Hello Kitty & Friends, and others. These shows are cartoons, but in 2005, Hello Kitty did something different with Hello Kitty Stump Village. This program featured claymation versions of Hello Kitty and her friends, and they didn’t speak; a narrator voiceover does the talking.
3. Hello Kitty Is the Mascot of Two Amusement Parks
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In the United States, Mickey Mouse has Disneyland and Looney Tunes characters are the animated stars of Six Flags theme parks. In Japan, Hello Kitty is the key character representing Sanrio Puroland, an indoor theme park in Tokyo. Over in Hiji, Japan, Harmonyland is the outdoor Sanrio theme park. In these family fun places, people say “Hello” to Hello Kitty everywhere!
4. Hello Kitty Has a Japanese Government Role
In 2008, Tetsuzo Fuyushiba—Japan’s tourism minister—presented a kimono-clad Hello Kitty a certificate appointing her as the tourism ambassador to welcome visitors from China and Hong Kong—where Hello Kitty is wildly popular among girls and young women. Japan has other goodwill tourism ambassadors, including actress Yoshino Kimura, but all the others are real humans.
5. Hello Kitty Has a Purrsonal Life
Sorry, boys and kittens. Hello Kitty has a boyfriend: Dear Daniel, also known as Daniel Starr. Sanrio introduced him in 1999. Daniel’s hobbies include playing the piano, dancing, and taking pictures of animals. And though more than two decades have passed since Daniel appeared, fictional child cartoon characters never age, so chances are, he still wants to be a professional cameraman when he grows up. Hello Kitty also has her own pet cat: Charmmy Kitty.
6. Hello Kitty Is a Social Media Star
Well, of course, she is. We might have been limited to shelves at department stores in the ’80s, but in the modern world, Hello Kitty is all over cyberspace! She has a TikTok channel, a Facebook page with some 12 million followers, and an Instagram page with some 4.5 million followers. Hello Kitty fans can follow these pages to get regular doses of cuteness and joy.
7. Hello Kitty Is Coming to the Big Screen
In 2019, New Line announced an upcoming Hello Kitty movie that would be a hybrid of live-action and animation. Jennifer Coyle and Leo Matsuda will direct the movie, and Lindsey Beer wrote the script.
“This is not only a rare chance to bring a beloved character to life, but also to spread the message of love, friendship, and inclusivity that Hello Kitty stands for,” Coyle said in 2021. “The world so needs her brand of joy and happiness.”
The latest update on the project came in November 2024, confirming that the movie is still in production at Warner Bros. We Hello Kitty lovers will be waiting with the popcorn!
