Hello Kitty turns 50: A half-century of whiskers, wishes and worldwide wonder

Hello Kitty will celebrate her 50th birthday on Nov 1. The Straits Times shares 50 things about the charming global icon.

About Hello Kitty

1. Hello Kitty is not a cat, but a British schoolgirl named Kitty White. She was born on Nov 1, 1974.

2. She is five apples tall and weighs three apples.

3. She lives in London with her parents and twin sister Mimmy, who wears a yellow bow. Her boyfriend is her childhood friend Dear Daniel.

4. Hello Kitty has two pets, a Persian cat named Charmmy Kitty and a white Djungarian hamster named Sugar.

5. She enjoys baking cookies and playing the piano.

6. Her favourite food is her mama’s homemade apple pie. 

7. Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu designed the character in her 20s. She was followed by Hello Kitty’s second and third designers, Setsuko Yonekubo and Yuko Yamaguchi, respectively.

8. Hello Kitty first appeared in Japan in 1975 on a coin purse.

9. In 1987, she made her TV debut in a Japanese-American animated series called Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater.

10. Hello Kitty is Japanese company Sanrio’s second character, after Coro Chan.

11. Hello Kitty has a music album titled Hello World, released in 2008 and available for streaming on YouTube.

12. Hello Kitty is a TikTok star, with 3.5 million followers.

13. In 2021, Hello Kitty’s media franchise was valued at US$84.5 billion (S$109 billion), according to online data portal Statista.

14. Dutch artist Dick Bruna, the creator of Miffy, has claimed that Hello Kitty is a copy of the fictional rabbit.

Kitty ambassador

15. In 1983, Hello Kitty was named the Unicef (UN Children’s Fund) children’s ambassador to the US. She was appointed as a children’s ambassador in Japan in 1994.

16. Hello Kitty was named Japan’s tourism ambassador to China in 2008.

Notable events

17. Ms Yang Tao, a fan from China, holds the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of Hello Kitty memorabilia, with 7,096 items. She started her collection in 2006.

18. Sanrio began creating clothing, bags and watches featuring the character to target young men in 2007.

19. In 2007, Thai police officers who broke rules were forced to wear hot-pink armbands featuring Hello Kitty as a mark of shame.

20. A 30-bed Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital opened in Taiwan in 2008.

21. In 2009, jewellery company Swarovski collaborated with Sanrio to create a 15 million yen “Super Hello Kitty Jewel Doll” to commemorate her 35th anniversary. The 10.5cm-tall doll is studded with thousands of precious gems.

22. American singer Lady Gaga donned a gown made entirely of Hello Kitty plush toys for the character’s 35th anniversary in 2009.

23. In 2012, Hello Kitty dressed up as Sadako, the main antagonist from popular Japanese horror film franchise The Ring, in a collaboration to promote the Sadako 3D movie. 

24. For her 40th anniversary in 2014, Hello Kitty went on a space mission to promote Japan’s high-tech industry aboard the Hodoyoshi-3 satellite. 

25. Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne released a music video for her song titled Hello Kitty in 2014.

26. A TV mini-series titled Gundam vs Hello Kitty was released in 2019 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of popular anime series Mobile Suit Gundam and the 45th anniversary of Hello Kitty.

27. Sanrio was fined €6.2 million (S$8.8 million) in 2019 by the European Union’s antitrust regulator for restricting cross-border online sales of products featuring Hello Kitty.

28. Megumi Hayashibara, the voice of Hello Kitty, stepped down from her role in 2023 after 33 years. She is also the voice of Team Rocket’s Jessie in the Pokemon franchise.

29. Sanrio Puroland, a theme park in Tokyo featuring Hello Kitty, was temporarily closed in February following a

terrorist security alert

via e-mail.

30. Britain’s King Charles toasted Hello Kitty during a

state banquet for Japan’s Emperor Naruhito

in June.

31. A new Sanya Hello Kitty Theme Park Resort is officially opening in China in 2025. 

Hello Kitty in Singapore

32. In 1994, Hello Kitty fans in Singapore made bids to stay in a Hello Kitty Room at the Westin Stamford, featuring more than 65 items. The starting bid was $1,000.

33. In 1998, Singapore Airlines offered a 15cm-tall Hello Kitty doll in a stewardess uniform to people who booked family packages. The campaign attracted 7,000 Japanese travellers to Singapore from May 1998 to 1999.

34. In 2005, Ms Wendy Tan Pui Hoon and Mr Tan Chong Yee tied the knot and used Hello Kitty dolls as ring pillows for the solemnisation. The couple met on Jan 26, 2000, while queueing for the Hello Kitty Japanese wedding set at a McDonald’s outlet in Bedok Interchange.

35. Hello Kitty’s Fantastical Adventure, a Broadway-style show, premiered in Singapore at Downtown East in 2006.

36. In 2009, the Singapore Expo hosted Kitty Lab, an interactive exhibition celebrating Hello Kitty’s 35th anniversary.

37. Singapore’s first Hello Kitty-themed cafe opened at Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 in 2016, drawing hundreds of people. The 84-seat eatery shut its doors in February 2019 due to the end of the company’s licence and partnership with Sanrio.

38. In 2016, SingPost launched a set of Hello Kitty stamps to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Japan.

39. The Hello Kitty Go Around carnival ran from October to November 2016 at Resorts World Sentosa’s The Coliseum.

40. In 2021, Hello Kitty was the highlight of Gardens by the Bay’s

signature Sakura floral display

in the Flower Dome.

41. Fairmont Singapore hotel launched a Hello Kitty-themed staycation and afternoon tea experience in 2022.

42. Since June 1, Singapore Cable Car has been operating

Hello Kitty-themed cabins

. This will go on till Dec 31.

43. Coffee chain Starbucks launched limited-edition Hello Kitty drinks and merchandise as part of the character’s 50th anniversary on Sept 10.

44. More than 3,000 fans gathered to celebrate the icon’s 50th anniversary at the Hello Kitty 50th Run Fest in Sentosa on Aug 24 and 25.

45. New Hello Kitty-themed Besties Jet planes from Taiwan’s Eva Air stopped by Changi Airport on Sept 11.

46. In 1999, 650 people camped overnight outside the Singapore History Museum to buy limited-edition plush toys of Hello Kitty in the McDonald’s crew uniform.

47. In January 2000, McDonald’s launched several Hello Kitty toys. In a series of separate incidents, a scuffle took place, an outlet’s glass door was shattered and six people were arrested for unruly behaviour.

48. In 2002, hundreds queued at McDonald’s outlets here for World Cup editions of Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel toys.

49. Long queues were spotted outside McDonald’s outlets islandwide in 2013 as customers scrambled for the special-edition

Singing Bone Kitty

.

50. Hello Kitty fever came back in 2019, with fans queueing at outlets islandwide to get hold of McDonald’s

limited-edition Hello Kitty carriers

.