Iconic Hello Kitty character not a kitty after all

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
By: Taylor Preza

Shocking news for Hello Kitty fans out there: The iconic character Hello Kitty was recently revealed as being a little girl and not a cat.

Christine Yano, anthropology professor at University of Hawaii, discovered the surprising news as she was preparing for a 40th anniversary exhibit in Los Angeles.

According to Yano, the creators of the character, Sanrio, sent her some corrections to a script she was writing.

Details came to light after an interview with a Los Angeles Times blogger.

In the corrections were facts about the international superstar, including that she is a girl and not a cat. Her name is Kitty White and she is British. She also has a twin sister named Mimmy and is a perpetual third grader.

Kitty White even has a pet cat of her own named Charmmy Kitty.

Ever since the interview, the story has gone viral.

"For me it's a lesson in buzz and this is how the media works," Yano said. "I find it really fascinating as an anthropologist just to see the effects of buzz and you know this is what I've been studying so here it is, live action."

Sanrio, a Japanese company, has not kept this a secret. In fact, Hello Kitty's bio on its website has details on her backstory. It just has not been highly publicized until now.

Hello Kitty was first introduced to the world in 1974.

Copyright 2014 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.