Hello Kitty turns 50 on Friday. Befitting a pop icon at midlife, the bow-wearing character’s fictional birthday has brought museum exhibits, a theme park spectacle and accolades.

How cute is too cute? That’s the question for the Hello Kitty brand. The main audience is “pre-teen girls,” and they find Kitty, the white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow, to be so adorable.

Kitty White - Hello Kitty's real name - was "born" on November 1, 1974, in the suburbs of London. According to company legend she weighs as much as three apples and her height is the same as five ...