Who is Hello Kitty?

Who on Earth is Hello Kitty?!?

Hello Kitty (ハローキティ Harō Kiti) is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. The character is a staple of the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. The character is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1975 and brought to the United States in 1976. This debut came under the Sanrio company lineup, where her various products are still developed and sold.

The Hello Kitty trademark has since spread globally and developed licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion annually. Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances. Her fame as a recurring Sanrio character has led to the creation of two officially licensed Hello Kitty theme parks, Harmonyland and the indoor Sanrio Puroland.

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 Hello Kitty brand rose to greater prominence during the late 1990s. At that time, several celebrities, such as Mariah Carey, had adopted Hello Kitty as a fashion statement. Newer products featuring the character can be found in a large variety of American department stores.

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