Yuko Shimizu is the first designer of Hello Kitty, and an award-winning Japanese illustrator. She is also the creator of Hello Kitty as well as Coro Chan, the very first original character of Sanrio. She is born on November 1, 1946, and was born in Chiba prefecture. After she graduated from Musashino Art University, she released Hello Kitty at Sanrio in 1974 with Shintaro Tsuji's approval, which would become a revolutionary success and immediately the mascot. She retired from Sanrio as early as 1976, with Yuko Yamaguchi taking her place for the character in 1980. After leaving the company, she started to work as a freelance designer and is currently doing so ever since. She has also created Angel Cat Sugar and Rebecca Bonbon, and she has also published some picture books.
Because she had left Sanrio during its early days, despite being technically the person who brought Hello Kitty to life, Yuko Shimizu is never credited regarding the character on official media by the multi-billiondollar company, unlike Yamaguchi.
Trivia[]
- Yuko's birthday is the same as Tomokuni Tsuji - Shintaro Tsuji's grandson and current CEO of Sanrio. Coincidentally, it's also the same as her best creation, Hello Kitty.