| Miss Piggy | |
|---|---|
| The Muppets character | |
 | |
| First appearance | Herb Alpert and the TJB (1974)[1] |
| Created by | Bonnie Erickson (designer)[2] Frank Oz (characterization) |
| Performed by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Muppetpig |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation |
|
| Family | Andy and Randy Pig (nephews) |
| Significantother | Kermit the Frog (on-and-off)[4] |
| Nationality | American |
Miss Piggy is aMuppet character known for herbreakout role in thesketch comedy television seriesThe Muppet Show. She is notable for her temperamentaldivasuperstar personality, her tendency to useFrench phrases in her speech, and practicingkarate.[5] The character is also known for heron-again/off-again relationship withKermit the Frog.[6]Frank Oz performed the character from 1976 to 2002 and was succeeded byEric Jacobson in 2001.[3]
Since her debut in 1974, Miss Piggy has become acelebrity fixture in international pop culture, with a distinguished career in film, television, fashion, recording, and publishing, and has been widely identified as afeminist icon.[7][8][9][10] In 1996,TV Guide ranked her number 23 on its 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time list.[11] In a 2001Channel 4 poll in the UK, Miss Piggy was ranked 29th on their list of the100 Greatest TV Characters.[12][13] In 1996, a cook book entitledIn the Kitchen With Miss Piggy: Fabulous Recipes from My Famous Celebrity Friends by Moi was released. In 2015, she was honored by theBrooklyn Museum'sElizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art for her achievements and contributions to breakinggender roles in the entertainment industry.[14]
ALady Liberty-inspired Miss Piggy statue previously stood as the centerpiece of a fountain in front ofRizzo the Rat's PizzeRizzo restaurant atDisney's Hollywood Studios. Miss Piggy has a collective star on theHollywood Walk of Fame as a member ofthe Muppets, which they received on March 20, 2012, in the category of Motion Pictures. The star is located at 6834 Hollywood Boulevard.
In a 1979 interview withThe New York Times, performerFrank Oz outlined Piggy's biography: "She grew up in a small town (most likelyKeystone, Iowa); her father died when she was young and her mother wasn't that nice to her. She had to enterbeauty contests to survive. She has a lot of vulnerability which she has to hide, because of her need to be a superstar".[15] During development ofThe Muppet Show, Oz assigned a hook for each Muppet he performed; Miss Piggy's hook was a "truck driver wanting to be a woman". Oz has also stated that whileFozzie Bear is a two-dimensional character andAnimal has no dimensions, Miss Piggy is one of the few Muppet characters to be fully realized in three dimensions.
Piggy, truly a diva in a class of her own, is convinced she is destined for stardom, and nothing will stand in her way. She has a capricious nature, at times determined to (and often succeeding in) conveying an image of feminine charm, but suddenly flying into a violent rage (accompanied by her trademark karate chop and "hi-yah!") whenever she thinks someone has insulted or thwarted her.Kermit the Frog has learned this all too well; when she is not smothering him in kisses, she is sending him flying through the air with a karate chop.
She loves wearinglong gloves;Hildegarde, who used to wear them, once said, "Miss Piggy stole the gloves idea from me”.[16][17] Miss Piggy was also inspired by jazz singerPeggy Lee.[18]
Since the debut ofThe Muppet Show, theromantic relationship between Miss Piggy andKermit the Frog has been subject to substantial coverage and commentary by the media. ThroughoutThe Muppet Show's run, Miss Piggy's romantic pursuit for Kermit was consistently expressed. Kermit, however, constantly rebuffed Piggy's feelings. Eventually, in the films, Kermit began returning her affections and even (unwittingly) marries her inThe Muppets Take Manhattan. However, subsequent events suggest that the marriage was simply fictional. It is mentioned by Miss Piggy, however, inThe Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986) that Kermit was a happily married frog. This marriage isn't referenced inMuppets Most Wanted.
Miss Piggy and Kermit formally ended their romantic relationship on May 10, 1990.[19] The decision was made byJim Henson Productions and a publicity campaign titled "The Pig of the Nineties" was scheduled to follow. An autobiography of Piggy was expected to be published as part of the effort.[20] However, shortly after the announcement on May 16,Jim Henson died and the campaign was dropped altogether.[19] The two eventually resumed their relationship.
In 2015, Miss Piggy and Kermit ended their romantic relationship for a second time.[6][21][22]
Frank Oz was Miss Piggy's principal performer from her early appearances onThe Muppet Show until his departure from the cast in 2000;[3] his last known performance as Piggy was an appearance onThe Today Show. Oz's earliest known performance as Piggy was actually in a 1974 appearance onThe Tonight Show.Richard Hunt occasionally performed Miss Piggy during the first season ofThe Muppet Show, alternating with Oz. In 2002,Eric Jacobson was cast as the new performer of Miss Piggy, and his first public debut as the character was performed via satellite at the 2001MuppetFest. Jacobson has remained Piggy's principal performer since then, openly describing the role as "one of the most famousdrag acts in the business."[3]
During Oz's tenure as the character, other performers would step in.Jerry Nelson performed Piggy in 1974 for a brief appearance onHerb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass.Fran Brill performed Piggy forThe Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, a pilot forThe Muppet Show.Kevin Clash andPeter Linz puppeteered Piggy for most of the filming ofMuppet Treasure Island andMuppets from Space, respectively, with Ozdubbing Piggy's voice in post-production.Victor Yerrid briefly performed Piggy inMuppets Ahoy!, a 2006 stage show for theDisney Cruise Line. InMuppet Babies, Piggy's voice was provided by voice actressLaurie O'Brien. Voice actorHal Rayle provided her voice for a short-lived spin-off series,Little Muppet Monsters. Melanie Harrison voices Baby Piggy on the 2018 reboot ofMuppet Babies.
The first known appearance of Miss Piggy was on theHerb Alpert television specialHerb Alpert and the TJB, broadcast on October 13, 1974, onABC. Miss Piggy's voice was noticeably more demure and soft, singing with Herb, "I Can't Give You Anything but Love." The first draft of the puppet was an unnamed blonde, beady-eyed pig who appeared briefly in the 1975 pilot specialThe Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, in a sketch called "Return to Beneath the Planet of the Pigs." She was unnamed in that show, but by the timeThe Muppet Show began in 1976, she had assumed something resembling her classic look—a pig with large blue eyes, a flowing silver gown, satin whitelong gloves, blue sheer shawl, and a hopelessly romantic persona.
Miss Piggy began as a minor chorus pig onThe Muppet Show butgradually developed into one of the central characters of the series,[23] as the writers and producers ofThe Muppet Show recognized that a lovelorn pig could be more than a one-noterunning gag. She spawned a huge fad during the late 1970s and early 1980s and eclipsed Kermit and the other Muppets in popularity at that time, selling far more merchandise and writing a book entitledMiss Piggy's Guide to Life that, unlike any of Kermit's books, wound up on top of theNew York Times Bestseller List.
Miss Piggy has appeared in all the Muppet films and television series followingThe Muppet Show. InThe Muppet Movie (1979), she has just won a beauty contest when she first meets Kermit and joins the Muppets. InThe Great Muppet Caper (1981), Miss Piggy plays an aspiring fashion model who gets caught up in a screwball-comedy misunderstanding involving a gang of jewel thieves.[24] 1984'sThe Muppets Take Manhattan ends with a climactic wedding between Kermit and Miss Piggy.[25] In 1992'sThe Muppet Christmas Carol, Miss Piggy plays Mrs. Cratchit to Kermit'sBob Cratchit.[26] Miss Piggy takes on the gender-flipped role ofBenjamina Gunn inMuppet Treasure Island (1996), and she plays an eager news reporter inMuppets From Space (1999).[27]
InThe Muppets (2011), Miss Piggy is shown to be residing inParis, having become the plus-size editor forVogue after the Muppets disbanded, and after she left Kermit in Los Angeles.[28] InMuppets Most Wanted (2014), having rejoined the Muppets on a global tour, she nearly marriesConstantine inLondon, after he poses as Kermit.
In the TV seriesThe Muppets, Miss Piggy hosts thelate-night talk showUp Late with Miss Piggy.
In the 2020Disney+ series,Muppets Now, Miss Piggy hosted a segment calledLifesty(le) with Miss Piggy.
A Miss Piggy film was revealed byJennifer Lawrence during a podcast interview. Lawrence is producing it withEmma Stone whileCole Escola will write the script.[29]
Miss Piggy has made multiple appearances in variousAcademy Awards ceremonies. In 1980, Miss Piggy andJohnny Carson introduced the performance ofBest Original Song nominee "Rainbow Connection" fromThe Muppet Movie. In 1982, Miss Piggy and Kermit performed the nominated song, "The First Time It Happens" fromThe Great Muppet Caper, during the54th Academy Awards Miss Piggy also appeared as a guest on Dolly Parton'sDolly show multiple times.
Miss Piggy had a spoof luxury brand featured onQVC, "Moi by Miss Piggy".[30] The name had previously been used by a perfume released in 1998.[31] She also appeared as a presenter at the68th and84th Academy Awards, in 1996 and 2012, respectively.
On Friday, March 15, 2013, Miss Piggy appeared on the UK telethonComic Relief to reveal the cash total and introduce boy bandOne Direction. She was in Dream House 2013. On December 6, 2013, she performed 'Somethin' Stupid' alongsideRobbie Williams at the London Palladium. In 2015, Miss Piggy received a Sackler Center First Award from theElizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at theBrooklyn Museum.[32] An essay was subsequently released byThe Muppets Studio (in the guise of Miss Piggy) forTime magazine, titled "Why I Am a Feminist Pig", explaining why she deserved the award.[33]
On May 7, 2023, Miss Piggy and Kermit were invited to theCoronation Concert ofKing Charles III.[34] She flirted with the hostHugh Bonneville.[35]
She was interviewed by Michelle Miller on CBS Saturday Morning on May 25, 2024.[citation needed] On November 23, 2025, as part of a promotional campaign for their then-upcoming Muppet Show revival special, she appeared at the last stop ofSabrina Carpenter'sShort n' Sweet Tour, where she was "arrested" as part of a recurring bit prior to the performance of "Juno".[36]
| |||||||||
| Domestic |
| ||||||||
| Wild andferal | |||||||||
| In culture |
| ||||||||
| Other | |||||||||
| National | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
