Rosalina Character Profile & Biography

Character fact sheet Name: Rosalina (Rosetta in Japan) First Appearance: Super Mario Galaxy (2007) Home: Comet Observatory Voiced by: Kate Higgins (2017–present), Laura Faye Smith (2013–2018), Mercedes Rose (2008–2015), Kerri Kane (2007 debut) Associates: Lumas, Polari, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad Brigade

General profile

Princess Rosalina, known as Rosetta in Japan (ロゼッタ), is a tall, gentle, ethereal protagonist who serves as the protector of the cosmos and the mother-figure of the Lumas. Introduced in 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy, she immediately set herself apart from the established Mushroom Kingdom princesses: where Peach and Daisy are cheerful, earthbound monarchs of a single kingdom, Rosalina is a quiet, melancholy guardian who lives aboard the Comet Observatory and travels the universe once every century. Her trademark side-swept blonde hair, long pale-blue gown, glittering golden crown and silver-tipped Star wand make her one of the most visually distinctive characters Nintendo has designed for the Mario series.

Rosalina’s origin is told through the in-game Storybook in Super Mario Galaxy — a melancholy nine-chapter children’s tale read in instalments by visiting the library aboard the Comet Observatory. As a young girl on a peaceful planet, Rosalina met a lost baby Luma searching for its mother; together they built a rocket from a hidden starship and travelled the stars, ultimately founding the Comet Observatory. She came to think of every Luma as her own child, and in turn the Lumas regard her as "Mama." The Storybook ends with Rosalina watching her old home planet through her telescope, unable to return because too much time has passed.

Since her solitary, mystical debut, Rosalina has been gradually absorbed into the mainstream Mario cast — first as a playable racer in Mario Kart Wii (2008), then as a fully playable platforming heroine in Super Mario 3D World (2013), and as a roster regular in every Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Mario Party, and Mario sports title since. This dual identity — cosmic guardian on one hand and Mario Kart staple on the other — has made her one of Nintendo’s most thematically flexible characters.

Quotes

Enemies

Rosalina’s only direct enemy in the mainline games is Bowser, who sweeps the Comet Observatory of its Power Stars and Grand Stars in Super Mario Galaxy to fuel his attempted conquest of the universe. By Super Mario Galaxy 2 she has resumed her observer role rather than directly fighting him. In spin-off games she competes against the entire Bowser camp — Bowser Jr., the Koopalings, Wario, Waluigi — in friendly racing, party, sports and Smash contexts. In Super Smash Bros., her Luma assist gives her the ability to control space around her opponents, making her one of the more spatially-tricky fighters in the roster.

Friends

Rosalina’s closest companions are the Lumas — the star-children she raises aboard the Comet Observatory. Her most-trusted Luma is Polari, the dark-blue veteran who serves as her chief advisor and the Observatory’s gateway to the various galactic domes. She has warm friendships with Mario (whom she calls "a brave traveller"), Luigi, Princess Peach (with whom she is shown taking tea in Super Mario 3D World), the Toad Brigade (whom she shelters in SMG and SMG2), and — in more casual appearances — the entire Mushroom Kingdom roster who race, play tennis and party alongside her in spin-offs.

Appearances

Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

Rosalina debuted in Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii as the keeper of the Comet Observatory, a cosmic sanctuary that drifts between galaxies. After Bowser strips the Observatory of its Power Stars and Grand Stars during the Star Festival, Rosalina shelters Mario and entrusts him with restoring the Observatory’s power so it can rescue Princess Peach from Bowser’s new galaxy. Rosalina is voiced in English by Kerri Kane in this game, with her serene, slightly distant delivery establishing the character’s ethereal mood. The Storybook — read by visiting the library dome — became one of the most-praised pieces of writing in the Mario series and has been cited as a turning point in Nintendo’s willingness to tell longer, emotionally-weighted stories.

Mario Kart Wii (2008)

Rosalina’s first non-Galaxy appearance was as an unlockable heavyweight racer in Mario Kart Wii. Players unlock her by completing the Star Cup on 150cc with one star rank, by winning fifty WFC races, or by playing 4,950 races (without unlocking through racing). Her appearance here — floating slightly above her kart, with a tiny Luma drifting alongside her — immediately established the Rosalina-and-Luma visual partnership that has carried into every spin-off since. Mercedes Rose took over the voice role from Kerri Kane for this and most subsequent appearances.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)

Rosalina returns in Super Mario Galaxy 2 in a smaller but pivotal role. Although the sequel’s hub is the Starship Mario (not the Comet Observatory), Rosalina appears as a recurring guide and as the post-credits granter of the game’s 121st Star — the Grand Finale Galaxy. The Storybook returns as an in-game collectible, with three additional chapters expanding her backstory. Galaxy 2’s creative director Koichi Hayashida confirmed in a 2010 Iwata Asks that Rosalina’s reduced presence was intentional, to "preserve the mystique of the character."

Super Mario 3D World (2013)

Rosalina became fully playable in a mainline 3D platformer for the first time in Super Mario 3D World (Wii U). Unlocked by clearing World Star-2, she joins Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad as a fifth playable character with her own signature ability: the Spin Attack from Super Mario Galaxy, performed in mid-air. This game cemented Rosalina as a true member of the mainline Mario platforming cast rather than a Galaxy-exclusive guest. The Bowser’s Fury expansion (2021, Switch) retains her as playable. Laura Faye Smith provides her voice in this game with a noticeably more upbeat performance than the original Galaxy delivery.

Mario Kart 7 / 8 / 8 Deluxe / Tour / World (2011–2025)

Rosalina has been a default or quickly-unlockable racer in every Mario Kart game since Mario Kart 7 (3DS, 2011). In Mario Kart 8 (Wii U, 2014) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch, 2017) she is classified as a heavyweight and is given a unique track named in her honour — Rainbow Road, which loops around the Comet Observatory. Mario Kart Tour (mobile, 2019–2025) gives her several alternate costumes including "Aurora Rosalina" and "Halloween Rosalina." Mario Kart World (Switch 2, 2025) features her prominently with a redesigned Comet Observatory course shown in pre-release trailers.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS (2014) and Ultimate (2018)

Rosalina joined the Super Smash Bros. roster in Smash for Wii U/3DS (2014) as the unique character "Rosalina & Luma," with the Luma acting as a semi-independent partner that mimics her attacks at a delay. This puppet-like fighting style made her one of the most mechanically interesting characters in Smash 4 — she was banned from competitive play in several major tournaments during the game’s first year due to her dominance. She returns largely unchanged in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018), where her Final Smash "Grand Star" recreates the Galaxy launch-star animation as a finishing move.

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (2014/2018)

Rosalina appears as the secret final unlockable playable character in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, accessed by collecting all Super Gems across the game’s three main books plus the bonus "Mummy-Me Maze Forever." She brings her Spin Attack from 3D World as a moveset addition to the puzzle-game format. The 2018 Switch port adds Super Mario Odyssey-themed bonus levels in which she also appears.

Mario Party / Mario Sports series (2012–present)

Since Mario Party 10 (Wii U, 2015), Rosalina has been a default character in every Mario Party game, including Super Mario Party (2018), Mario Party Superstars (2021), and Super Mario Party Jamboree (2024). She is also a default character in Mario Tennis Aces, Mario Strikers: Battle League, Mario Golf: Super Rush, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (every entry since Rio 2016), and the niche puzzle title Dr. Mario World (2019–2021), where she appears as "Dr. Rosalina" with the unique skill of clearing diagonal lines of viruses.

Super Mario Odyssey (2017)

Rosalina makes a cameo appearance in Super Mario Odyssey as an unlockable Rosalina costume for Mario, purchasable from the Crazy Cap store after collecting 250 Power Moons. The costume includes her crown, wand and gown rendered in Odyssey’s photorealistic style. A statue of Rosalina also appears in the Mushroom Kingdom area of the game.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

Rosalina is a major character in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the 2026 Illumination/Nintendo animated sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). Released theatrically in April 2026, the film adapts the cosmic-guardian backstory from the Galaxy Storybook into a feature-length narrative and introduces Rosalina to a mass cinema audience. Pre-release marketing materials confirmed Rosalina as one of the two leads alongside Mario, with the Lumas serving as the film’s emotional core.

Mario Tennis Aces (2018) and the Sports/Spin-off Roster

Rosalina is a default character in Mario Tennis Aces on Switch, classified in the "Tricky" play-style with curving slice shots and a Trick Shot animation in which she floats above the court to recover impossible balls. She is similarly playable in Mario Sports Superstars (3DS, 2017), Super Mario Strikers: Battle League (Switch, 2022) and Mario Golf: Super Rush (Switch, 2021). In Mario Strikers: Battle League her finishing move sees her summon a constellation of Lumas to score.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020)

Rosalina appears in remastered form in Super Mario 3D All-Stars for Switch (2020), which bundles enhanced versions of Super Mario 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy. The collection retains the original SMG performance by Kerri Kane and adds a new orchestrated arrangement of her theme. The limited-run release (sold worldwide only between September 2020 and March 2021) sold over 9 million copies and reintroduced Rosalina to a generation that had missed the Wii original.

Trivia & Official Sources

• Rosalina was designed by Yoshiaki Koizumi, director of Super Mario Galaxy, who pushed for her inclusion despite initial resistance from Shigeru Miyamoto. In an Iwata Asks interview published shortly after SMG’s release, Koizumi recalled that Miyamoto called her early backstory "too sad for a Mario game."
• The Rosalina Storybook in Super Mario Galaxy was written by Koizumi himself rather than by the regular Mario writers — he had previously written a similar bedtime story for his own daughter and adapted it for the game. He has said the personal origin is why the story is "more vulnerable than anything else in a Mario title."
• Rosalina’s Japanese name Rosetta (ロゼッタ) was localised to Rosalina for Western releases for euphony — the literal English transliteration Rozetta was rejected as "harsh-sounding" by Nintendo of America. The German name is also Rosalina.
• Rosalina’s in-game height (~178 cm / 5´10") makes her the tallest playable female character in any Mario game — taller than even Mario and Bowser Jr. The official Nintendo character guide for Super Mario 3D All-Stars lists this measurement.
• Her famous side-swept hair covering one eye was inspired by 1940s Hollywood actress Veronica Lake — a deliberate choice by character designer Yusuke Akifusa to give Rosalina "old-world melancholy."
• Rosalina was the second female character ever added to the playable Super Smash Bros. roster who was not previously a fighter genre regular (after Princess Peach in Melee) — her Smash inclusion was directly campaigned for by series creator Masahiro Sakurai, who has called her "the most interesting Mario design of the 2000s."
• The Comet Observatory itself appears as a stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and as a kart track in Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart Tour — the only Mario location to have appeared as both a fighting stage and racing track across multiple console generations.
• Kerri Kane voiced Rosalina only in the original Super Mario Galaxy (2007); Mercedes Rose took over for Mario Kart Wii (2008) and held the role through Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS (2014). Laura Faye Smith voiced her in Super Mario 3D World, and Kate Higgins has voiced her since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017).
• Rosalina’s default theme — "Rosalina in the Observatory" — was composed by Mahito Yokota for Super Mario Galaxy and has been re-arranged for every subsequent Rosalina appearance. The track is widely cited as one of the most beloved Mario series compositions and was performed live by the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Switch tour orchestra in 2024.
• In Super Mario 3D World, Rosalina’s spin attack is the only character ability shared with a previous mainline 3D platformer (her own SMG move set) — every other playable character’s special ability is new to 3D World.
• Rosalina is the only female playable character in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and the only character there besides Captain Toad and Toadette.
• Her crown design subtly references the "cosmic spirit" iconography of medieval European saints — the silver-and-blue palette is a deliberate echo of Marian iconography, according to character designer Yusuke Akifusa’s 2018 Nintendo Power retrospective.
• In the German Club Nintendo magazine, Rosalina was nicknamed die Sternenmutter ("the star-mother") in 2008 — a term later adopted by fans worldwide.
• Rosalina has appeared in every Olympic-themed Mario & Sonic crossover since the 2016 Rio Games — the first female Mario character besides Peach and Daisy to be a default playable Olympic team member.
• The Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection (2020) retained Rosalina’s original Storybook voice-over readings, complete with the gentle "page-turning" sound effect. The Switch online survey conducted ahead of the collection’s release found that Rosalina’s Storybook was the single most-requested feature to preserve — ahead of camera improvements or save-state additions.
• In The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026), Rosalina is voiced in English by Anya Taylor-Joy, who also voices Princess Peach in the franchise. The unusual decision to have one actress voice two princesses was explained by directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic as a deliberate "sisterhood-of-the-cosmos" thematic touch.
• Her wand — unnamed in most games but identified as the "Star Wand" in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate character description — doubles as the source of her spin and float abilities, and is the only character weapon in the Mario roster that does double-duty as a magic implement.