Minnie Mouse gets her Walk of Fame star 40 years after Mickey

LOS ANGELES - She waited 90 years and saw a trail of men and Disney princesses get there before her, but on Monday Minnie Mouse finally got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Minnie Mouse made her movie debut in the 1928 film Steamboat Willie, and her co-star and beau Mickey Mouse got his bronze plaque on Hollywood Boulevard back in 1978.

But it took another 40 years for Minnie, who appeared in more than 70 animated movies, to join him on the Walk of Fame.

Disney Chairman and CEO Robert A. Iger and US singer Katy Perry took part in the ceremony with a group of excited fans outside the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.

"After 90 years in show business, it's certainly about time you got your star," Iger said.

Minnie has been celebrated as a fashion icon, pop culture staple and a character who brings joy to children worldwide, and an actor dressed as the cartoon character waved and batted her eyelashes throughout Monday's ceremony.

"This is the best day ever. Thank you, thank you, thank you," she squeaked from the red and white polka dot stage.

Pop star Katy Perry, also dressed in red and white polka dots for the occasion, said she had been a fan of Minnie since the age of two or three. "Minnie and Mickey printed diapers - that was my first memory ever and it turned into a lifelong devotion," the Firework singer said.

"To this day, no one rocks a bow, the color red, or a polka dot quite like her. It is a special skill to bring joy to so many, and she does it with the effortless bat of an eyelash." Walk of Fame honorees are selected by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

Women have stepped up their campaign in recent years for equal pay in Hollywood and better representation behind and in front of the camera.

It took Minnie much longer than her boyfriend to receive Monday's accolade because Disney only nominated her last year, Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez told Reuters.

"Maybe he was more popular back in the day," Martinez said.

Donald Duck, Tinker Bell, Snow White and other Disney characters were immortalized on the Walk of Fame before Minnie.

Reuters - Xinhua