Yuko Shimizu (清水 侑子, Shimizu Yūko) (born 1 November 1946) is the Japanese designer who created Hello Kitty.She was born in Chiba Prefecture. After graduating from Musashino Art University, she created Hello Kitty at Sanrio in 1974. 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.The other characters she has created include Angel Cat Sugar and Rebecca Bonbon.