"The Notorious P.I.G."

I die...Miss Piggy in Brian Atwood shoes


Miss Piggy in Jason Wu designs in this month's In Style magazine

Miss Piggy in Prabal Gurung in her photo fashion shoot from this month's In Style magazine

I've always loved pigs. Maybe I was influenced by Charlotte's best friend Wilbur when I was a little girl, but their cute little pug noses and curly tails always made them the best stuffed doll option in the toy store. Pigs were big when I was a kid and I remember there was a great store in the Faneuil Hall Market place called, "Hogs Wild" that carried any and all things that had to do with pigs. I loved it there.

Back then, there was one pig who reigned supreme if you were a pig lover and no other pig even came close. Miss Piggy was the Queen of the pig-loving world and every other pig was a cheap imitation. Piggy had swagger and the posse to prove it and she had her man, Kermit the Frog. Although Miss Piggy didn't start out as a major Muppet character, in the late 70s and early 80's, Piggys popularity sky rocketed, surpassing all the other Muppet characters in popularity and merchandising.

It was like nothing could stop her.

Miss Piggy has written 5 books, one a New York Times best seller, and performed with many Hollywood hotshots. She even sang a duet with Sir Elton John himself and wore the clothing of the most sought after fashion designers in the world. Not bad for a puppet with purple gloved hands who never quite seemed to get her man, I mean frog. Poor Kermit. When she isn't loving him and smothering him in kisses, she is giving him a huge karate chop with her signature, "Hi-Ya!" and sending him flying.

Now Miss Piggy is enjoying a resurgence of her popularity due to the upcoming Muppet movie. What will Miss Piggy do for an encore? It's hard to top Piggy. Those who knew her best suggest not even going there.

The late, great Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets once said of Miss Piggy when they were creating the new show, "Fraggle Rock",

"We would anticipate coming up with new personalities which would have much of the same appeal as a Kermit , Fozzie or Gonzo. We will not create anybody with Miss Piggy's kind of appeal-nobody should even try."