Pauline

Pauline
Artwork of Pauline from Super Mario Odyssey.
Universe	Donkey Kong Mario (since SSBU)
Debut	Donkey Kong (1981)
Smash Bros. appearances	Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Super Mario Party Jamboree (2024)
Console/platform of origin	Arcade
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Place of origin	Metro Kingdom
Voice actor	Kate Higgins
Article on Super Mario Wiki	Pauline

Pauline (ポリーン, Pauline) is a character in the Mario and Donkey Kong series.

Origin

Pauline as she appears in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. This design is also the basis for her trophy in Super Smash Bros. 4.

Pauline made her debut as "Lady" in Donkey Kong as the first damsel-in-distress and love interest to Mario, then referred to as "Jumpman". In her original appearance, she is blonde with a pink dress.

The Lady is kidnapped by Donkey Kong and is dragged up a construction site, dropping her belongings along the way, including her hat, purse, and parasol (as well as a birthday cake sometimes). Jumpman pursues Donkey Kong higher up the construction site, dodging obstacles and collecting the Lady's belongings as collectible extra points along the way. As Jumpman continues to pursue him, Donkey Kong drags the Lady farther and farther up the building until he is defeated when Jumpman causes the girders supporting him to collapse, sending him plummeting to the ground.

In the Donkey Kong remake for Game Boy, the Lady returns under her new name, "Pauline" and her new appearance, featuring long brown hair and a long red dress. Her role in the game is largely the same, though Donkey Kong is now joined by his son, Donkey Kong Jr.

After over a decade of making cameos or appearing in minor ports of the original Donkey Kong game, Pauline made her return to the series in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, where she joins Mario at the grand opening of his new theme park. As usual, Donkey Kong becomes infatuated with her, but she rejects him in favor of Mario, sending him into a rage and leading him to kidnap her; however, this time, Mario utilizes his toy Mini Marios to rescue her. After she is saved, she and Mario make peace with Donkey Kong. In the following game, Pauline is kidnapped once more, but this time when Mario and the Mini Marios save her, it turns out that her kidnapping was a ruse she orchestrated to test the toys' skills.

In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!, a Mini Pauline is added to the roster of toys, which Donkey Kong immediately becomes enthralled by. However, he becomes furious when they sell out before he can get one and resorts to kidnapping Pauline once more. Ultimately, DK lets her go once Mario gifts him with his own Mini Pauline. Pauline is not kidnapped in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, instead running different arcade games alongside Donkey Kong peacefully. In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, her apparent kidnapping again turns out to be a ruse, this time to lure Mario to a surprise party. The Mini Pauline also returns in the latter two games.

Pauline made her mainline Mario series debut on the Nintendo Switch in Super Mario Odyssey, where she is the mayor of the Metro Kingdom, the capital of which, New Donk City, is based on the city setting of the original Donkey Kong. When Mario first arrives in New Donk City, it is under attack by Bowser's Mechawiggler, with Pauline watching the destruction from afar, unable to do anything about it. After Mario defeats the Mechawiggler, Pauline is able to swiftly repair the city and plans a festival to celebrate things returning to normal. At New Donk City Hall, she asks Mario to help her gather a band so that she may perform a song at the festival, and Mario complies. However, before the festival can occur, Mario must investigate the power plant malfunctioning, and Pauline joins him upon realizing the sabotage is Bowser's fault. As thanks for helping make the festival possible, Pauline declares Mario the guest of honor. The song she and her band perform, Jump Up, Super Star!, also serves as the game's main theme song.

Later, Pauline is among the guests kidnapped by Bowser to attend his and Peach's wedding, telling Mario he is just in time when he arrives. Pauline can be heard singing a second song, Break Free (Lead the Way), as Mario and Peach escape the collapsing wedding hall at the end of the game. Once Bowser is defeated, Mario can visit Pauline in New Donk City, where she will reveal several facts about herself, including that her hat is her favorite possession, she loves eating cake, and that being kidnapped by Donkey Kong was "traumatic". Mario can also give Pauline a purse as a birthday gift, revealing that she lost her purse and never replaced it when Donkey Kong kidnapped her. Pauline also appears among other characters on the Darker Side of the Moon, performing Jump Up, Super Star! and cheering Mario on as he enters the final challenge.

Following her appearance in Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline's renewed relevance was maintained in a few ways. She was added to Mario Tennis Aces and Mario Strikers: Battle League as a playable character via free updates, is part of the starting roster of Mario Golf: Super Rush, made her Mario Kart series debut in Mario Kart Tour, and appeared as a DLC character in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and made her Mario Party series debut in Super Mario Party Jamboree. She also cameos in The Super Mario Bros. Movie as the mayor of New York City.

In Super Smash Bros.

Donkey Kong's character description describes him as "kidnapping beautiful maidens", referring to Pauline.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

As a stage element

Pauline's lost items appear on the 75m stage. Strangely though unlike in the original Donkey Kong game, Pauline herself does not make an appearance.

Sticker

Name	Game	Effect	Fighter(s)
Pauline & Donkey Kong	Donkey Kong	AttackArm+018 Attack +18	Donkey Kong Diddy Kong

Pauline & Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong)

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Pauline appears as a trophy in both versions of the game and is mentioned in passing in the description for the Event Match 1988.

Trophy

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Pauline's trophy is part of the Memorabilia Trophy Box.

Pauline's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Pauline's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Pauline

Waaay back in 1981, a new action game using barrels and girders hit arcades. That game was Donkey Kong, in which Mario had to rescue Pauline from the title character. Maybe she wanted to look less like Princess Peach—she changed her look in the Game Boy version.

: Donkey Kong Classics (09/1988)

: Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (09/2006)

One fine day in 1981, the world was introduced to a new action-packed arcade game – Donkey Kong! But back then, the girl Mario was trying to rescue from Donkey Kong wasn't Peach – it was Pauline. Also, did you know that in Japan, Pauline was originally just called "Lady"?

: Donkey Kong (1981 (JP))

: Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (03/2007)

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As a background character

The New Donk City band and Pauline.

Pauline and the members of the band appear as background characters on the New Donk City Hall stage though Pauline will only appear if the music track for the match is Jump Up, Super Star!. Pauline and her band appear on floating platforms, and on the ground in front of City Hall. Interacting with the band members causes them to begin performing their signature song, "Jump Up, Super Star!".

Spirits

Pauline also appears as a Legend-class support spirit and is featured on the Donkey Kong & Lady spirit, referred by her original name, "Lady".

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, Pauline is presumably one of the countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. Pauline's spirit is located in the southern city section of The Light Realm.

In both spirits' battles, Pauline uses a Peach puppet fighter and is fought on the 75m stage.

Pauline is fought along with the Mario and the Giant Donkey Kong puppet fighters, referencing how Pauline, Mario (as Jumpman), and Donkey Kong all debuted in the original Donkey Kong arcade game. During the battle, the player must defeat Peach, who avoids the player, in one minute while Mario starting off with a Hammer and the Giant Donkey Kong appears.

In the Donkey Kong & Lady spirit battle, Pauline (as "Lady") is fought along with the player's fighter while battling the Giant Donkey Kong puppet fighter equipped with super armor. During the battle, the player's fighter must defeat Donkey Kong within one-and-a-half minutes and prevent Peach from be KO'd, referencing how Pauline must be rescued from Donkey Kong within the time limit and within three lives. Also, Barrels appear in numbers, referencing the barrels Donkey Kong throws during the first level of Donkey Kong.

Primary spirit

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
137		Donkey Kong & Lady		★★★★	3	4047	10119	2386	5967	1432	3580	Strong Throw	Donkey Kong Series

Support spirit

No.	Image	Name	Class	Cost	Ability	Series
79		Pauline	★★★★	2	Healing Shield	Super Mario Series

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Japanese	ポリーン, Pauline
English	Pauline
French	Pauline
German	Pauline
Spanish	Pauline
Italian	Pauline
Chinese (Simplified)	宝琳, Pauline
Chinese (Traditional)	波琳, Pauline
Korean	폴린, Pauline
Dutch	Pauline
Russian	Полина