She sports a signature red bow, her hobbies are travelling, reading and baking, and – despite celebrating her 50th birthday – stands at only five apples tall.

Called the “CEO of supercute”, Hello Kitty was created by Yuko Shimizu, a Japanese illustrator, half a century ago on Friday.

The catlike character became popular in the 1970s and has remained a global phenomenon ever since, popular with adults, children, and celebrities alike.

At 50, the character continues to be loved by many, adorning lines of merchandise from clothing to stationery and makeup, as well as appearing in animated series and films, comics, video games and books.

Sanrio, the Japanese company that owns the character, makes almost $4bn (£3.1bn) in Hello Kitty sales annually, according to the Economist. It is estimated she has earned her creators $80bn (about $62bn) over her lifetime.

Despite her popularity, little is known about her backstory. Hello Kitty, whose full name is Kitty White, lives with her family in London’s suburbs and is a girl – not a cat, as many had believed – and has a twin sister, Mimmy.

Shimizu created Hello Kitty after being inspired by a kitten her father had given her. The design then made its debut on a vinyl coin purse the following year and became an instant hit in Japan.

Now Hello Kitty’s face has appeared on tens of thousands of products, including in collaborations with Adidas and the designers GCDS and Balenciaga.

The character is ranked as the second-highest grossing media franchise in the world behind Pokémon and ahead of Mickey Mouse and Star Wars.

In the decades since her creation, Hello Kitty has become an ambassador for Unicef, a special envoy for Japan’s Foreign Ministry, and the face of themed cafes, restaurants and amusement parks across the globe.

Celebrities love her too: Paris Hilton was photographed carrying a diamante-encrusted Hello Kitty handbag, Katy Perry wore a corset with her face plastered on it at the 2009 Brit Awards, and Lady Gaga wore a gown made of Hello Kitty plushies that same year.

While most have to wait until their centenary to receive birthday wishes from King Charles III, he made an exception during the state visit to the UK by Japan’s emperor and empress in June, when he wished Hello Kitty a happy birthday.

In 2015, the feline-faced favourite was the subject of a retrospective to celebrate her 40th anniversary called Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty, which premiered at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

That exhibition made headlines after its curator, Christine R Yano, revealed that the Hello Kitty character was in fact a little girl rather than a cat, as she is never depicted on all fours. The owners confirmed that Hello Kitty actually has a pet cat of her own, called Charmmy Kitty.

Hello Kitty is now also a TikTok superstar, with more than 3.5 million followers on her account and 27.9 million likes.