For decades, fans around the world have embraced the iconic Hello Kitty as their favorite feline friend. With her adorable whiskers and signature red bow, it’s easy to see why. But brace yourself for a surprising twist: Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty, has a revelation that might change how you see this beloved character: Hello Kitty is not actually a cat! As it turns out, there’s more to this Sanrio’s mascot than meets the eye. So, keep reading to discover why Hello Kitty isn’t the feline you thought she was, and learn the fascinating story behind this global icon.
Sanrio Clears Up the Confusion: Hello Kitty Is Human
To clear up the confusion surrounding Hello Kitty’s true identity, Sanrio’s senior vice president of marketing and brand management Jill Koch, set the record straight during an appearance on the Today show last July that the beloved character is a human.
“She’s actually a little girl born and raised in the suburbs in London,” Koch confirmed ahead of the character’s 50 anniversary next year. “She has a mom and dad and a twin sister Minnie, who is also her best friend. She enjoys baking cookies and making new friends.”
“[Hello Kitty] weighs three apples and is five apples tall,” Koch added, before revealing that Hello Kitty actually has a pet cat of her own named Charmmy Kitty.
Hello Kitty was created by Yuko Shimizu in 1974 and made her first official appearance on a children’s coin purse in 1975. In the five decades since, the character has delighted millions across the world, becoming the most popular Sanrio character ever.
Reaction to Hello Kitty’s Identity Twist
The recent confirmation that Hello Kitty is not a cat has ignited a whirlwind of reactions from fans around the globe. Social media platforms have been flooded with responses ranging from shock to humor, as fans express their confusion over how a character with such feline traits could be human.
On TikTok, one user posted a video and asked if “Hello Kitty is trying to gaslight us” after they shared a clip of Koch’s interview on the Today show.
@speechprof I refuse.
Despite the clarity provided by Sanrio exec, some fans remain steadfast in their belief that Hello Kitty is indeed a cat. On X (formerly known as Twitter), a user wrote that “u cannot change history, that’s a CAT.”
u cannot change history, that’s a CAT
— c✦s (@cuntrs) July 19, 2024
Sanrio has been debunking Hello Kitty’s identity misconception for years
While the recent confirmation of Hello Kitty’s true nature has shocked many, it’s not the first time Sanrio has clarified the character’s real identity. In 2014, The Los Angeles Times reported that Christine R. Yano — author of Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific — was corrected by the Japanese company regarding Hello Kitty’s identity.
“I was corrected — very firmly,” said Yano, whose works have been featured in an exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum. “That’s one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show. 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. She’s never depicted on all fours. She walks and sits like a two-legged creature.”
Yano also shared additional details about Hello Kitty, revealing that her full name is Kitty White, she is a Scorpio, and she is a “perpetual third-grader” with a love for apple pie. “A lot of people don’t know the story and a lot don’t care,” Yano noted. “But it’s interesting because Hello Kitty emerged in the 1970s, when the Japanese and Japanese women were into Britain.”