Pauline

Pauline (initially known as Lady or the Lady in Japan) was Mario's girlfriend and the original damsel-in-distress in the arcade game Donkey Kong who was captured by the original Donkey Kong. She is one of the few damsels in the Marioverse who is not a princess, but a simple woman.

First Rescue
Upon her kidnapping, Mario climbed up the building to save her from Donkey Kong, along the way collecting various articles Pauline had dropped, such as her purse or hat, for bonus points. However, after this appearance, she was suddenly dropped as damsel and love interest to Mario, in favor of Princess Peach (possibly due to the fact that Mario and Luigi suddenly ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom).

Prolonged Absence and Reappearance
Pauline did not make any more appearances, with exception to a cameo in Pinball and remakes of the arcade game. Twenty-five years after her debut, though, she appeared with little explanation in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, in which she was once again captured. Mario saved her with the help of the Mini Mario Toys. The relationship status of Mario and Pauline went unmentioned in the game, and the manual stated that they are now simply good friends. She has also recently cameod in Tetris DS.

Appearances in Other Media

 * In the Super Mario Bros. movie, there is a character named Daniella. Like Pauline, she is Mario's girlfriend with no royalty status.
 * Pauline appeared in the CBS series Saturday Supercade in 1983, but as Mario's niece rather than girlfriend. She was voiced by Judy Strangis.
 * Interestingly, Pauline appeared in the Nintendo Monopoly. However she only had a very small cameo.

Trivia

 * Pauline was named after the movie serial The Perils of Pauline. Much like her video game counterpart, the movie character Pauline would constantly find herself kidnapped.
 * In Japan, Pauline was first called Lady. She was renamed to Pauline in American ports, similar to Jumpman being renamed Mario. In Japan she was renamed to her American name starting with the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong.
 * In the Nintendo Comics System comic "Cloud Burst", Mario mentioned having an ex-girlfriend whom he compared to Princess Toadstool and Luigi compared to Bowser. It is possible (though unconfirmed) that this ex-girlfriend was Pauline.