Pauline
- This article is about the recurring character in the Super Mario franchise. For other uses, see Pauline (disambiguation).
- "Lady" redirects here. For the unnamed playable female character in the Mario Golf series, see Lady golfer.
- "Mario's girlfriend" redirects here. For the character who is portrayed as Mario's love interest from Super Mario Bros. onwards, see Princess Peach.
| Pauline | |
|---|---|
 Artwork from Mario Tennis Aces | |
| Species | Human |
| First appearance | Donkey Kong (1981) |
| Latest appearance | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (cameo) (2026) |
| Latest portrayal | Kate Higgins (2017–present) |
- “I like music that brings people together and gets them moving!”
- —Pauline, Super Mario Odyssey
Pauline (formerly known as Lady or the lady[1] and the Beautiful Girl)[2] is a character introduced as the damsel-in-distress in the arcade game Donkey Kong, marking her debut in both the Donkey Kong and Super Mario franchises, along with Mario and her titular kidnapper (confirmed in later games to be a younger Cranky Kong). She was Mario's first love interest.
After a long absence, Pauline reprises her damsel-in-distress role in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series. In Super Mario Odyssey and Donkey Kong Bananza, she is closely tied with New Donk City, being the mayor of the city in the former and claiming to be raised there in the latter. Since her appearance in Super Mario Odyssey, she has appeared as a playable character in various spin-off games, starting with Mario Tennis Aces.
Pauline is currently voiced by Kate Higgins, since Super Mario Odyssey, with Jenny Kidd voicing her teenage version in Donkey Kong Bananza. She has been voiced in games prior to this, though her voice actors remain unknown.
Creation
Pauline's original design for the Donkey Kong arcade release was based on Shigeru Miyamoto's artwork which graced the arcade cabinets and appeared in Japanese marketing material such as flyers and print ads. His Lady is a blonde or orange-haired woman with long puffy hair wearing a deep pink to red strap dress and ankle-strap pumps of the same color. In her sprite in Donkey Kong for Game & Watch, she was given short curly orange hair, and had on a pink blouse and purple pants (in the Game & Watch Gallery versions, she instead has blonde hair and either a red dress, or otherwise a red blouse and yellow skirt depending on the specific game version).
While Miyamoto's rendition defined the appearance of Lady in Japan, the North American market was heavily influenced by her look in Zavier Leslie Cabarga's flyer. Coincidentally, both Miyamoto and Cabarga's designs for Mario and Donkey Kong were inspired by Popeye and Bluto respectively. However, Cabarga's muse for Pauline was Betty Boop, albeit with a smaller head.[3] His Pauline has more of a wavy hairstyle and her cocktail dress is torn with her face expressing greater distress. Most Donkey Kong merchandise in North America from 1982 to 1984 was based on Cabarga's design. Some exceptions include Topps collectible stickers which depicted her with long orange-colored hair (she remains blonde in the packaging as it was designed by Cabarga).[4][5] In 1983, the debut of Saturday Supercade revised Pauline's appearance to make her look more youthful. The last official use of Cabarga's flyer was for Ocean Software's ports of Donkey Kong for European home computers in 1986.
Since Donkey Kong for Game Boy, Pauline's appearance was updated closer to her more current appearance with only minor difference to her most recent look. This redesign was suggested in the American version of her Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophy to be an attempt to differentiate herself from Princess Peach. Her original redesign gave her a ribbed-chest red halter neck dress, black Mary Jane high heels, dark brown hair, red lips and violet eye shadow. This appearance would be refined over the years to her final look.
In Super Mario Odyssey, her face is slightly refined even more; her eyes, her head and her earrings are somewhat smaller than in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games and her face is more rounded, while her makeup is more vibrant. She is shown to be very tall compared to the other characters in the game (a feature shared with the New Donkers) and her waist is subtly wider. According to the developers, she was given a new design that reflected the current view of the world while handling the original features with great care.[6] Subsequent games bring back many elements of her Mario vs. Donkey Kong appearance, resulting in a mixture between the two designs.
General information
Identity
In the US, the name Pauline first appeared in 1982 through the Donkey Kong activity books and Coleco's figurine. Her name was further spread through Saturday Supercade and was eventually used in the MS-DOS, Apple II, Coleco Adam, and NES ports; however, in Japan, she was still known as Lady in the Famicom version. Because the name Pauline was not used universally until her return in the Game Boy game where she was redesigned, the original version of the character and redesigned version were treated as separate characters in certain media in Japan, with the original version of the character being known as Lady and the new version being known as Pauline, although the two incarnations are never shown meeting together. This is likely due to the fact that Pauline was described as a "new heroine" when Donkey Kong for Game Boy was released in Japan,[7] despite the fact that Shigeru Miyamoto and game director Masayuki Kameyama acknowledged in an interview that Pauline was previously used as the name of Lady outside Japan, as well as stating that the game was intended to be a prequel to Super Mario Bros. since Pauline was Mario's "old flame" (昔の彼女) before meeting Peach.[8] Additionally, an early title screen uses the phrase "Save the Lady from Donkey Kong" from arcade materials,[9] further indicating that Pauline was intended to be Lady. After the release of the Game Boy game, the name Lady retained usage to refer to the original version of the character in Japan; for example, during the Cat Mario show's coverage of some NES games, Cat Mario, when asked by Cat Peach about the woman's identity, simply identified her as Lady.[10]
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In the Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten, published in 1994 by Shogakukan, Lady and Pauline are given separate entries. Curiously, both of them have "New York" listed as their place of origin, but Lady's personality is described as "docile" (おとなしい) while Pauline's personality is "vigorous" (活発).[11]
Kazuki Motoyama's Super Mario manga introduced Lady during the Super Mario Kart story arc as Mario's childhood girlfriend who established an automobile repair shop and volunteers to become Mario and Luigi's mechanic during the kart race. Later on, during the Donkey Kong story arc, Pauline was introduced as an acrobat hired by Peach for her circus alongside Donkey Kong Jr.
Volume 2 of Yukio Sawada's Super Mario-kun featured a gag in which Lady leaves Mario for Donkey Kong. However, Volume 11 of the same manga would introduce Pauline as a clerk in a clothing store that Mario frequents with no mention of her having a prior romantic relationship with Mario (or Donkey Kong for that matter).
Within Nintendo Land, the chalk drawing of the original design of the character is labeled as Pauline instead of Lady.[12] Similarly, in Nintendo Badge Arcade, Arcade Bunny has dialogue introducing the arcade character as Pauline instead of Lady, even in non-international releases.
Both Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U would then make it clearer to Japanese players that Pauline and Lady are indeed one and the same on Pauline's trophy description, which claims that the character debuted in 1981's Donkey Kong under the name Lady, while the name Pauline itself debuted in the Game Boy version.[13] Similarly, the European English translation points out that Pauline was formerly known as Lady in Japan,[14] while the North American English translation does not address the name change, instead pointing out that her new design debuted in the Game Boy version.[15]
Due to the initial name Lady sometimes being mistaken in translation as the generic word lady,[16] Pauline has several naming discrepancies across media. In at least two print ads by UK distributor CGL for the Game & Watch version of Donkey Kong, Pauline was referred to as Louise.[17][18] However, the instructions leave her unnamed. NES information packs, mailed as late as April 1986, referred to her as Paula instead.[19]
Physical description
Pauline is depicted as having light blue eyes, which had a violet hue before her appearance in Super Mario Odyssey, long wavy dark burgundy-brown hair (slightly darker in Mario Golf: Super Rush), and fair skin. She has large slanted eyes with four long eyelashes at the top and three smaller lashes at the bottom (a total of seven), coupled with long defined arching eyebrows. Her face is oval in shape with a triangular nose and pointed chin. She is typically shown wearing purple eye shadow, dark red lipstick, and matching nail polish.
Pauline has an hourglass figure, in comparison to other human female characters. She has been shown as average height when compared to other human women in the Super Mario franchise, such as in StreetPass Mii Plaza's "Nintendo Heroines/Starlets" 3D puzzle showing her to be as tall as Peach, but is also shown to be taller in other games like in Super Mario Odyssey, where her overall proportions have been changed to match the New Donk City populace, making her particularly tall, especially in comparison to Mario. In Mario Tennis Aces, she appears to be very slightly shorter than Rosalina and taller than Peach by the same amount. In Mario Kart Tour, Pauline occupies the large kart driver classification like Rosalina.
Pauline's default appearance features a red halter-neck maxi dress with a bow knot connecting the straps behind her nape and a low cut back, black heels with ankle guards, small golden round earrings with a teardrop hanging from each, and a golden bangle on her left arm. Her dress has been depicted as shorter in earlier artwork, most notably in Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special. In Super Mario Odyssey, she also wears a red wide-brimmed hat, and her dress is also slightly sparkly; in the same game, as a mayor, she wears a red pantsuit and a purple hat with a red strap. This outfit also appears in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
In Mario Tennis Aces, Pauline wears a sleeveless tank-top dress with black cross trainers and short white ankle socks. She also wears a red visor around her head and white wrist bands on both hands.
In Mario Kart Tour, Pauline has three alternate forms. In her Party Time form, Pauline wears a sleeveless disco shirt in various shades of gray, a red skirt with a crest surrounding it, and red heels. Her earrings are shaped like Christmas ornaments in nickel gray, and both arms are equipped with black opera gloves extending past the elbows, while the left hand has nickel gray beaded bands. Her hair is decorated with dots, hearts, and stars in various colors. In her Rose form, Pauline wears a dress similar to her default appearance, though the center hues its contrast to black, and the torso area has a thick red heart-shape collar. She wears a red beter hat, her heels are recolored red, and her earrings are replaced by red Valentine's Day hearts with gold linings. In her Cowgirl form, Pauline wears a checkered shirt with indigo jeans and red western boots. Additional equipment include a red cowgirl hat with a blue band, orange horseshoe earrings, a pink scarf, and burnt orange gloves.
In Mario Golf: Super Rush, Pauline wears a sleeveless V-neck shirt, black pants, white high-top shoes, and a red beret hat.
When driving a bike or ATV in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pauline wears a red and white jumpsuit similar to those worn by Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina, but with different lining, higher heels, no gloves, and hair tied back in a low ponytail. Mario Kart World introduces an updated version of her jumpsuit known as her Aero outfit, with the red color being burgundy, the white lining being changed to gold, red gloves, and a high ponytail.
In Donkey Kong Bananza, Pauline appears as a 13-year-old[20] girl. Compared to her adult self, she has shorter hair tied up in a high ponytail on the right side of her head with a purple rock hairband, no make-up, thicker eyebrows and freckles. Her standard clothes, called Rock-Out Rags, consist of a long, torn red tank top with a black layer underneath, long baggy jeans, and bare feet; on her left wrist is a purple rock bracelet, matching her hairband.
Personality
Until Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline did not have much character development. She is shown to be friendly, happy, kind, and even business minded, seen when she tests the quality of the Mario Toy Company’s Mini Mario toys in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! She is also quick to forgive others, especially apparent when it comes to Donkey Kong’s numerous abductions of her. She is also implied to enjoy games, which is shown when she opens a gaming theme park called Mini-Land with Donkey Kong in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move. Pauline also acts as a mediator between Mario and Donkey Kong. As mayor, she is apparently adept at city planning, as one of the residents of New Donk City mentioned that he was surprised at how fast she managed to get the city up and running again. In Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline has been given more character (re)development overall. She enjoys peppy and jazz music because it brings people together, frequently practices singing to prepare for the next New Donk City Festival, has such a love for New Donk City that she often takes walks to admire it all, and also mentions she adores cake, stating that "It has to be 'good' cake and 'not that package stuff'". On another hand, however, she admits that she is not good at fixing machinery, and implies that she is also bad with flowers. She also goes on walks as a hobby due to her love for New Donk City and has indicated that she likes Fried Mushrooms and Flower Stew (the former due to being a massive Mushroom fan), but is not fond of Leaf Salad.
In Donkey Kong Bananza, the younger Pauline at first is easily scared and shows insecurities when performing to a large audience; however, thanks to Donkey Kong, she ends up improving these aspects and shows her true side of being a cheerful girl who often shows a lot of curiosity over everything she sees and loves exploring the different layers with her friend. She is also shown to have a sense of humor and tells jokes, often related to Donkey Kong's love for bananas, or even tickles him during one of their idle animations. By the end of the adventure, she shows a lot of maturity not only in her performances, but also in how she decides to save Donkey Kong after being turned into stone by Void Kong, or how despite her wanting Donkey Kong to stay with her in New Donk City, she realizes that he has his own interests that he should keep following.
Relationships
Relatives
Pauline mentions having a grandmother to Donkey Kong multiple times in Donkey Kong Bananza. From the comments made about her, she is either a singer or knows how to sing well enough, and Pauline looks up to her; however, she is never seen during the game and her name is unknown.
Friends
While Mario and Pauline's relationship was implied to be romantic during the Donkey Kong arcade game and outright stated in most home port manuals, Pauline was soon dropped as Mario's love interest and replaced with Princess Peach. In the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, it is stated that the two are friends, with her attending Mario's Mini Mario business and theme park events as a VIP, and his racing to her rescue when Donkey Kong kidnaps her at said events. Later, she takes a more active role in Mario's business ventures and helps run his Mini-Land theme park.
During the events of Donkey Kong Bananza, Donkey Kong saves Pauline after she was turned into the Odd Rock by Void Kong, and later helps her turn back into her human form, becoming her friend in the process and teaming up to reach the Planet Core to make a wish to the Banandium Root to return to the surface. During the adventure, Donkey Kong also helps Pauline overcome her insecurities of performing in front of a large crowd, and also saves her after she is captured and turned into a rock again by Void. By the end of the adventure, Pauline also saves Donkey Kong when he is turned into a rock by Void and later both defeat King K. Rool and save New Donk City. Pauline also wants Donkey Kong to stay with her and keep helping her achieve her dream of becoming a singer, but decides to let him also follow his own dreams and not needing to be tied to her at all times. Donkey Kong also meets Pauline three months after the events of the game, and the two team up again to meet the elders so they can help her create a song to perform at New Donk City Hall, which Donkey Kong attends. Pauline's friendship with Donkey Kong is represented in the lyrics of the song "Breaking Through (Heart of Gold)."
Enemies
Void Kong represents one of the biggest threats that Pauline has personally faced. During the events of Donkey Kong Bananza, he is aware of the power of Pauline's voice, which he realizes can be used to awaken what he thought was the Banandium Root, so he, alongside Grumpy Kong and Poppy Kong, kidnaps her and turns her into the Odd Rock; however, Pauline is able to escape and return to her human form thanks to Donkey Kong. Void then tries to kidnap her again multiple times using the other workers of Void Company and mind-controlling the Great Harmoneel, but fails every time, until finally he is fought in the Forbidden Layer, where he manages to turn Donkey Kong into stone, making Pauline use her voice to turn him back to normal, awakening King K. Rool in the process, who defeats Void.
Pauline also finds an enemy in King K. Rool, who tries to destroy and consume her city and all of its inhabitants using the power of the Banandium Root, making her and Donkey Kong fight him to stop the catastrophe, which they successfully do.
She is shown to not be fond of Bowser, especially when his wedding plans resulted in New Donk City being attacked and him plastering billboards for his forced wedding to Peach all over the city (which she deemed tasteless, especially in light of the city's crisis). In addition, when Mario arrived at the Wedding Hall after Pauline and other characters were forced by Bowser to act as "guests" for the wedding, Pauline tells Mario that he was "just in time", implying she was not happy with Bowser forcing her to attend the wedding.
Other relationships
In the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, Donkey Kong has an unrequited crush on Pauline, flying into childish rages and kidnapping her when he feels rejected in favor of Mario or does not get what he wants. While Pauline is apprehensive of Donkey Kong when he kidnaps her, he never hurts her and she does not bear him ill-will for his impulsiveness (Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special contradicts this however, where Pauline kicks Donkey Kong and threatens him with vengeance for ruining her dress and dragging her to the top of buildings), being quick to forgive him once Mario curbs his behavior and he shows remorse. Aside from the kidnapping incidents, the two get along well, and while Pauline does not return Donkey Kong's affections, it is implied that she finds his gestures sweet. In two instances, Pauline also plots with Donkey Kong for the latter to "kidnap" her in order to test the abilities of the Mini Mario line and lure Mario to a surprise party.
History
Donkey Kong franchise
Donkey Kong
- “HELP!”
- —Lady, Donkey Kong
Lady, as the character was known at the time, makes her debut appearance in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong as one of the first damsels-in-distress in any video game.
Lady is kidnapped by Donkey Kong, a pet who was owned by her boyfriend Mario.[21][22] She is taken up onto a building and loses various articles (such as her parasol, hat and bag, which can be collected for bonus points) on the way. Mario then climbs up the building, avoiding all the hazards in the way, to rescue her. However, when Mario reaches the top of the building, Donkey Kong grabs Lady and takes her higher up, forcing Mario to do another level. After four levels, Donkey Kong is trapped as Mario removes the bolts from the platform, sending Donkey Kong plummeting. Lady is finally saved by Mario, and they share a special moment together.
She was originally intended to speak and two audio samples are buried in the arcade version's code.[23] She was portrayed by actress Sally Klein in the 1982 commercial for the ColecoVision, Atari 2600, and Intellivision ports.[24] In addition, voice actor Jo Belle Yonely portrayed Pauline for Ralston's Donkey Kong branded breakfast cereal in 1983.[25][26]
Donkey Kong (Game & Watch)
Lady also appears in the Game & Watch game Donkey Kong. Like in the arcade game, she was kidnapped by the titular Kong and brought to a construction site, with the objective being to have Mario rescue her by cutting wires holding Donkey Kong's platform together.
She reappears in the Game & Watch Collection version of Donkey Kong, serving the same role.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Pauline never makes an appearance in Donkey Kong Jr. itself, although the back flyer does reference Donkey Kong's earlier abduction of her, citing that Mario's motive for imprisoning Donkey Kong was namely to make sure Donkey Kong cannot abduct her or any other woman again. In addition, the arcade version's transition scene between the Jump Board Scene and Mario's Hideout has the titular son of Donkey Kong pursuing Mario's helicopter while riding a parasol resembling Pauline's parasol.
Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
Eventually, Pauline is given a revised appearance and is featured in the Game Boy rendition of Donkey Kong. Mario pursues Donkey Kong and his son Donkey Kong Jr. as Pauline is carried across a variety of locales. Once more, Pauline is eventually rescued by Mario. The two are then shown in a setting resembling the Mushroom Kingdom from Super Mario Bros., where Pauline supplies Mario with a Super Mushroom. Donkey Kong then attempts to best Mario one last time, but the tables turn when the crushed Mario lifts Donkey Kong as Super Mario, alarming his son. Afterwards, the group has their photo taken at one of the previous levels, Rocky-Valley.
The Nintendo Character Manual used from 1992 to 1994 suggests that Pauline willingly reprises her appearance in this game, because of her belief that "life without Donkey Kong and Mario is pretty dull".[27]
Donkey Kong 64
Although Pauline does not appear in Donkey Kong 64 proper, she makes a cameo in Frantic Factory via the Donkey Kong arcade game. She is only present in the first playthrough as well as the third onward, as the second playthrough has her being replaced with the Nintendo Coin that is necessary for accessing the final Boss Key at Hideout Helm.
Donkey Kong Bananza
- “DK... I have a hard time singing in front of people. But...when we're together I...I love to sing. More than anything. DK, I've never told anyone this before, but I have this dream... Maybe if we can get to the surface... You and me...we can make it more than a dream.”
- —Pauline, Donkey Kong Bananza
Pauline appears in a major protagonist role in Donkey Kong Bananza as a 13-year-old girl from New Donk City who loves singing and dreams of becoming a professional singer. Before the main events of the game, Pauline was kidnapped by Void Kong and Void Company and turned into the Odd Rock, after they discovered that her voice has special powers that can be used to awake the Banandium Root in the Planet Core, which is known to grant the wish of anyone who reaches it. The Odd Rock managed to escape, crash-lands in Ingot Isle, and is discovered by Donkey Kong, who scares her and makes her run away, causing her to become cornered by a group of enemies. Donkey Kong defeats these enemies and saves the Odd Rock, who calms down after listening to his whistles and decides to join him. Not too long after that, the two meet the Kong Elder in the Lagoon Layer, who invites them to a music performance act by the Odd Rock after seeing her potential as a singer, and, thanks to Donkey Kong's drumbeat, Pauline is freed from her Odd Rock form, but immediately shows stage fright in front of the large crowd. She is able to overcome it thanks to Donkey Kong's support and activates the Kong Bananza by singing its respective song. Pauline then explains everything that happened to her to Donkey Kong and becomes his friend, and they both decide to travel to the Planet Core to have Pauline's wish of returning to the surface granted by the Banandium Root, going through the different layers and facing the different members of Void Company in the process, who wanted to kidnap her again. Pauline slowly becomes a better singer and performer with each Bananza song learnt, as well as progressively becoming a closer friend to Donkey Kong.
After the two reach the Radiance Layer and learn the final Bananza, Pauline is swallowed by the Great Harmoneel who is being controlled by Void Kong and Donkey Kong passes out in the process. In the Groove Layer where Donkey Kong reawakens, he manages to find the location of Pauline with the help of Poppy Kong, saves her, and turns her back to normal. Then they finally reach the Forbidden Layer, where they face Void Kong one last time, apparently defeating him before he manages to turn Donkey Kong into stone, forcing Pauline to sing to save him while also awakening what they thought was the Banandium Root. Pauline hesitates, but decides to do so after hearing Donkey Kong's drumbeat, declaring that they are strong when they are together. Donkey Kong turns back to normal, but what was supposedly the Banandium Root reawakens and reveals itself to be King K. Rool, who had been trapped for a long time and proceeds to defeat Void Kong and head for the Planet Core, forcing Donkey Kong and Pauline to follow him.
Pauline and Donkey Kong fight King K. Rool in the Planet Core and defeat him, then make their wishes to the Banandium Root, with Pauline wishing to return home and Donkey Kong wishing for bananas. King K. Rool regains consciousness and chases after them with his Propellerpack to New Donk City, where he uses the power of the Banandium Root to turn the city and its inhabitants into Banandium Mush. Pauline and Donkey Kong quickly avoid the new dangers present and fight him, now in his King of Rot form, and defeat him, turning the city back to normal and saving everyone. With the danger over, Pauline decides to follow her dream of becoming a singer and wants Donkey Kong to join her, which he initially accepts but becomes undecided after remembering that his dream was to have as many bananas as possible. Pauline understands and tells him that he should follow his own dream without needing to be tied to her. The two then bid each other farewell, ending the main story of the game.
After three months, Pauline returns to Ingot Isle to reunite with Donkey Kong, who is happy to see her again. Pauline tells him that she was going to perform at New Donk City Hall and needs inspiration to write a new song, so they go to see the elders once again. After doing their respective Bananza Rehearsals, Pauline writes a song, which is not shown to the player aside from the fact that it uses the same melody as "Round 1 BGM" from the original Donkey Kong game (which is also present in both "Jump Up, Super Star!" and "Break Free (Lead the Way)", both sung by adult Pauline in Super Mario Odyssey). She finally performs this song at the end of the game's story in front of an audience, including Donkey Kong, in her new "Diva Dress", which is similar to the dress she wears in Super Mario Odyssey.
In the DK Island & Emerald Rush DLC, Pauline and Donkey Kong travel to DK Island via the Warp Gong after being informed by the Eelevator that Void Kong had landed his Pay-Dirt Piledriver nearby. Confronting him, Void explains he has discovered emerald ore and hires the two into the company to collect the ore for him.
Pauline's role in the story was initially kept a secret, as the first trailer and pre-release gameplay only showed the Odd Rock in her place. However, Pauline was accidentally revealed early on the South Korean website, which showed key art of her in place of Odd Rock.[28] By the following day, the art had been replaced by the same banner used in other websites.[29]
Donkey Kong (coloring/activity books)
The earliest known appearance of the name Pauline in licensed print media comes from two series of activity books comprising of five books each released by Modern Promotions/Publishers in 1982 and 1983. One book from each series contain only activities while the other four has a plot. In the Donkey Kong series, Pauline is a singer at Video Land Amusement Park and is the subject of unrequited love from little Mario the carpenter and Donkey Kong, the new attraction. Donkey Kong breaks free and kidnaps her leading to Mario having to rescue her. In the sequel series, Donkey Kong Strikes Again!, she has become very successful and owns a club in which she also sings. Mario seeks out Pauline after Donkey Kong has escaped again because she is the only one he would listen to. In the second book of the series, Pauline ends up buying the amusement park and turns Donkey Kong into the star attraction and promotes Mario to foreman.
This is the earliest depiction of her as a singer, predating the 1983 Japanese ads for the canceled Famicom game Donkey Kong no Ongaku Asobi, where Lady would presumably act as the second player using a hammer to play the piano, and as the lead singer in the Donkey Band group (which would have utilized the microphone option for the Famicom). She would not be seen as a singer again until Super Mario Odyssey.
Game & Watch commercials
Pauline appears briefly at the beginning of a commercial for Mario's Cement Factory.[30] She also appeared in television and print advertisements for the Game & Watch in 1983.[31]
Donkey Kong Goes Home
In the Donkey Kong Goes Home album, Pauline returns as a delivery girl for Mario's pizza parlor. When she was delivering a pizza to Jake the Watchman, Donkey Kong spots her and remembering the days when he was at the zoo and Mario, Pauline and the narrator would see him, he kidnaps Pauline and takes her up the construction site, causing Mario to go after her and save her.
Saturday Supercade
Pauline appears as a regular character in the Donkey Kong episodes within the Saturday Supercade show. Voiced by Judy Strangis[32], Pauline plays the role as Mario's assistant or partner and is often seen to be alongside him in the various episodes. The two work together to capture Donkey Kong throughout the series. Pauline can also be seen helping Stanley in the penultimate episode.
Pinball / VS. Pinball
Lady,[33] also referred to as Pauline[34] and generically as a lady[35] or the lady,[35][36] appears in the Bonus Stage of Pinball and VS. Pinball. Lady runs back and forth across the top of the screen. When the floor below her becomes too short for her to jump across, she falls down and must be caught by Mario before she hits the floor. If she reaches the exit, she reappears at the top of the screen. This is the first game depicting the character in her standard brunette appearance, rather than her blonde appearance.
Family BASIC
Lady is a usable sprite in the Family BASIC accessory for the Family Computer. The Family BASIC allows users to make their own programs. Her default appearance as seen on the Message Board is similar to Pinball but in Family BASIC V3, she appears in the Heart minigame sharing the same palette as Mario.
Nintendo Comics System
Pauline was given an indirect mention in the Nintendo Comics System story Cloud Burst, where Mario alluded to a past girlfriend who was comparable to Princess Toadstool as well as to some extent Luigi and Bowser.
Super Mario-kun
In the recap chapter found in the 2nd volume of Super Mario-kun, Lady is shown in her usual damsel-in-distress role in the context of the arcade Donkey Kong plot. When Mario comes to save her, he is so bruised up from the barrels he took to the face that Lady jumps in Donkey Kong's arms, claiming "he is better."
Pauline appears in volume 11 of Super Mario-kun for the Game Boy Donkey Kong chapter. She is described as a person whose appearance is "brighter" and "more gorgeous" than Peach. She runs a shop called "Pauline's Fashionable Store", that sells various Mario power-up suits. Donkey Kong later enters the store to buy a new tie. Mario recommends Donkey Kong to buy a collar. Donkey Kong gets furious and takes a tie and Pauline to the top of a construction site, locking her in a chamber. Mario and Yoshi defeat Donkey Kong, but later have to search the key in the crumbled construction site they destroyed in the process.
The manga treats the two iterations as separate characters: Mario mentions that Pauline recognizes him because of his popularity, not even mentioning their former relationship.[37] This trait was carried over from the Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten, in which Lady and Pauline are categorized as two separate characters.
Super Mario (Kodansha manga)
Just like in Super Mario-kun, the Super Mario manga anthology by Kazuki Motoyama treats Lady and Pauline as two distinct characters, with Lady as Mario's ex-girlfriend and Pauline as a circus star working for Princess Peach.
Lady first appears in Super Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World 5. Mario is interviewed about his first crush, whom he reveals to be Lady. She then enters the studio in her pixelated form, causing Mario to be surprised that she is still in low resolution.
Lady reappears in Super Mario Kart 1 where she is a mechanic that sells items and engine upgrades to Mario on credit so he can win the kart race. She also rides with him, and later with Yoshi, after the repairs. After Mario's victory, she is one of the creditors who seize Mario's cash earnings. She makes a brief return in Super Mario Kart 2 as an item checkpoint host. During their interaction, Daisy takes a picture of her and Mario and edits it to make it look like they were kissing, causing Peach to lash out at Mario. In these stories, Lady is a short girl (with the same height as the main cast) with fuchsia hair tied in two braided pigtails.
In the Donkey Kong for Game Boy arc, Pauline is the star acrobat at Peach's circus and regularly performs with Donkey Kong Jr., who was kidnapped by Peach from his island. When Donkey Kong frees his son, Junior convinces his father to take Pauline with them because he believes she is his mother. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad attempt to rescue her but in the end, Pauline decides to stay to take care of Junior. In the post-story, after Bowser has extorted all the circus' money, they head back to the island to get Pauline to return. She turns them down as she has gained weight and is happy on the island. Peach's circus is forced out of business.
In Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land 3, while fighting Genie, Mario declares that he can endure whatever he throws at him, pushed by his will to avenge Luigi and Wario, but Genie projects what is really going through his mind, proving that he is doing this for all of his female friends, also showing both Lady and Pauline's faces.
Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special
Pauline is featured in the Donkey Kong Jungle Action Special comic "A Blast From The Past". The comic starts with a reporter coming into Cranky Kong's cabin, asking if he recalls anything about Pauline. Cranky does, and proceed to tell the reporter about the last time he saw her.
Pauline is carried by a younger Cranky Kong as he climbs to the top of a construction site. She asks him why he likes to climb tall buildings, to which Donkey Kong replies it is something he saw in a movie. An electrician hears the commotion and also climbs to the top of the construction site, fearing Pauline may be in danger. After the electrician manages to startle Donkey Kong by popping out of the barrel he is holding, Pauline admonishes the two and proceeds to kick Donkey Kong, claiming she is tired of his antics and is looking for a way to "get even".
In the present, Cranky Kong ends his story, but the reporter reveals to him that Pauline wrote a successful book about the events, titled "The Girl and the Gorilla", and got a movie deal titled "The Adventures of Pauline". Furious at how he is depicted and with a promise from the reporter to be paid for telling his side of the story, Cranky Kong claims that he will tell the truth about Pauline, warning the reporter that "it isn't pretty". He proceeds to start talking about the first time he carried Pauline to the top of a building; however, the comic ends there.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Although Pauline herself does not make an appearance in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, she, and more specifically Cranky Kong's abduction of her in the original game, was alluded to in the manual (intro in the GBA version) where Cranky, while lecturing Donkey Kong, said "Whisking off maidens and throwing barrels around the place seven days a week, I was."