| Yuko Shimizu | |
| Birth Date: | 1 November 1946 |
| Birth Place: | Kyoto, Japan |
is the Japanese designer who created Hello Kitty.
She was born in Japan. After graduating from Musashino Art University, she joined Sanrio. She designed the first original Sanrio character, Coro Chan, a bear which was introduced in 1973.[1] In 1974 she made the original design for Hello Kitty, Sanrio's most successful and best known character. She left Sanrio in 1976 to get married and has been working as a freelance designer ever since. She did not make a lot of money from Hello Kitty.[2]
The other characters she has created include Angel Cat Sugar and Rebecca Bonbon.[3] She has also published some picture books.