In an interview with the LA Times, University of Hawaii anthropologist Christine R. Yano revealed that she had been corrected from Hello Kitty creators, Sanrio, after referring to the character as a cat, in which they responded by claiming that the character is indeed not a cat, but rather a female child.
It turns out, the character’s actual name is Kitty White, daughter of George and Mary White, and sister of Mimmy White. “She has a twin sister,” Yano continued. “She’s a perpetual third-grader. She lives outside of London.”
Go figure.
