Hello Kitty is one of the best-known of many simply drawn fictional characters produced by the Japanese company Sanrio. The first product, a coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974, and in the United States in 1976.



The Japanese anime series "Hello Kitty and Friends" aired on TV Tokyo in Japan, and CBS in the United States in 1991. On the show, Kitty is a little girl living with her mother, father, and twin sister Mimmy, who is identical to Kitty but has different colored clothes and wears her bow under the opposite ear. 



Hello Kitty can be found on a variety of consumer products ranging from school supplies to fashion accessories.



The Hello Kitty line has since developed licensing arrangements worth more than $1 billion a year in sales. Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers and greeting cards to clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances. Sanrio Puroland is the official theme park of Sanrio featuring Hello Kitty and her friends.



UNICEF awarded Hello Kitty the exclusive title of UNICEF Special Friend of Children.



In 2008, Japan named Hello Kitty the ambassador of Japanese tourism in China and Hong Kong.



Also in 2008, a Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital was opened in Yuanlin, Taiwan, in the hopes that the popular character would help ease the stress of childbirth. Hello Kitty is featured on the receiving blankets, room decor, bed linens, birth certificate covers,and nurses' uniforms.