Princess Peach

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Princess Peach was preceded as Mario's romantic interest by Pauline in Donkey Kong (1981). Miyamoto replaced her with Princess Peach for Super Mario Bros. (1985) after failing to license Popeye characters. Initially designed to look "stubborn, but a little cute" with cat-like eyes by Yōichi Kotabe, her design was not finalized until later games; early merchandise depicted her with straight blonde hair and a red skirt. Miyamoto noted that Peach's damsel role existed for clarity in game objectives, though he acknowledged criticisms regarding its fit with modern images of women. In Super Mario RPG (1996), she gained a parasol weapon and sleep spell abilities. Later, during the development of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Miyamoto sought to depict "Peach's worries and emotions" rather than just making her a fighting character, leading to an updated, more determined appearance on the box art for Princess Peach: Showtime!.

In Their Own Story

Throughout the mainline series, Peach resides in a large castle with white walls and a red roof, adorned with a stained-glass portrait of herself. She rules over the Toads, a species of mushroom-like people, and is presented as one of the few humans in the kingdom. Her age has never been officially confirmed but varies between mid-teens and early twenties. The persistent threat comes from Bowser, who kidnaps her to trigger the plot for Mario's rescue. In Super Mario Bros., her white magic was the only way to undo the chaos caused by Bowser. Despite this repetitive role, she has taken center stage as a protagonist in games like Princess Toadstool's Castle Run and Super Princess Peach (2005). Miyamoto emphasized that Nintendo wanted her to remain "Peach-like," evoking a "free optimism of a Princess" rather than simply being protected.

Reader's Guide

Princess Peach is playable in the majority of Mario games, often serving as the main female character and romantic interest of Mario. Her standard role involves being kidnapped until rescued by Mario, but she is a playable character in Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Run, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Outside the main series, she stars in spin-offs like Mario Sports games, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Paper Mario, and Super Smash Bros. Her signature abilities include floating mid-air and using a parasol as a weapon or glider. She has also wielded a frying pan. In the English-speaking world, her name transitioned from "Princess Toadstool" to "Peach," with the latter appearing in Yoshi's Safari (1993) and becoming standard from Mario Kart 64 (1996) onward. Her voice acting history includes Leslie Swan, Jeannie Elias, Tracey Moore, Jen Taylor (2000–2007), Samantha Kelly (2007–2024), and Courtney Lin (since 2025).

Did You Know?

• Princess Peach has appeared in more video game titles than any other female character in history.
• Her name 'Peach' comes from Miyamoto associating princesses with girls and the color pink.
• The concept of an evil version named 'Walupeach' was pitched by Shugo Takahashi but rejected by Miyamoto before seeing the design.
• In The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026), she is voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy.
• Early merchandise for Super Mario Bros. depicted Peach with straight, long blonde hair wearing a red skirt before her final design was set.