Princess Peach

Princess Peach is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original Super Mario Bros. installment as Princess Toadstool. She is the princess regnant and head of state of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides in her castle along with Toads. Since her debut, she has appeared in the majority of Mario video games as the main female character and the romantic interest of Mario.

As the lead female character in the Super Mario series, Peach's role is typically the damsel in distress who is kidnapped by the main series antagonist, Bowser. In most of the games, her role is to be a captive until she is eventually rescued by Mario. In several multiplayer games of the series, she is a playable character, such as Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Outside the series, she has appeared as the protagonist and player character of several video games, including Princess Toadstool's Castle Run, Super Princess Peach, and Princess Peach: Showtime!, which will release on March 22, 2024.

Peach is one of the best known female protagonists in video game history, having appeared in more video game titles than any other female character. She has also appeared in official merchandise, comics and animated series. In The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) she is voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy. She has been described by critics as one of the most iconic and influential female video game characters.