Marinette Dupain-Cheng () is the titular co-protagonist of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir created by Thomas Astruc. A teenage student of Chinese and French descent, she aspires to become a fashion designer. Marinette is one of the superheroes alongside Cat Noir. She has a pair of earrings known as the Ladybug Miraculous, which, when worn, grant Marinette the ability to transform into Ladybug, her superheroine alias. Ladybug and Cat Noir's goal is to protect Paris from the villain Hawk Moth and defeat him altogether. As the holder of a Miraculous, Marinette is assisted by a small red creature resembling a ladybug called Tikki, who is a magical being known as a kwami. As Ladybug, Marinette's signature ability is creation (through her Lucky Charm superpower). Marinette appears in most Miraculous media, including the main series, the film, the Roblox game, the mobile running game, and the comic books.
Marinette's character was inspired by a young woman wearing a ladybug-themed T-shirt who once worked with Astruc. After creating a drawing that portrayed her as a ladybug-themed superheroine, Astruc felt this would be a good character, especially as he was not aware of the existence of another ladybug-related superhero. The woman's haircut served as inspiration for Marinette's hairstyle as well. Marinette is voiced by Cristina Vee in the English dub, while Anouck Hautbois voices her in the French version of the series.
Marinette's character has received a generally positive critical response, with writers characterizing her as a role model for viewers and as a great protagonist; both her civilian self and her superheroine identity have been praised. Meet-and-greet sessions with Ladybug have taken place. Several pieces of merchandise based on her, such as accessories, clothing items, and action figures, have been created.
Development Concept and creation
The superheroine identity of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Ladybug, was inspired by a young woman wearing a T-shirt with a ladybug depicted on it. She belonged to the production team of another show that also included Thomas Astruc, the creator of the show, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. Astruc befriended her, and following this they had started creating and "exchanging ladybug-themed sticky notes," which included a note drawn by Astruc that portrayed the woman as a ladybug-themed superheroine. Astruc did not know of the existence of a ladybug-related superhero and felt this character would be good. Additionally, Astruc thought that a superhero based on this idea had not previously been created because of not being sufficiently masculine. As a result, Ladybug's character was conceptualized. Marinette's hairstyle was also conceived using the woman's haircut as a model. Astruc said that Ladybug's power was connected to luck since ladybugs are associated with good luck and also commented that Ladybug's character is comparable to Spider-Man.
Astruc stated that while Marinette is a girl of action, this does not prevent her from wearing pink. He characterized Ladybug as an "awesome", special, very positive, and a bright character. He also described her as his favorite character from the series. Astruc hoped that children would view Ladybug as a positive example, and that she would become the mascot of Paris, being found on flyers at museums' entrances to inspire children to visit them. In regard to Marinette and Adrien Agreste, he commented that he had wished to depict "sunny," inspiring characters. Astruc mentioned that Ladybug is one of the two most "powerful teenagers" alongside Cat Noir since she has the power of creation. He stated that handling the dynamics between Marinette's and Adrien's identities was entertaining. Astruc said that couples of superheroes like the one consisting of Ladybug and Cat Noir are uncommon in shows, and he felt that the viewers enjoy the love situation formed between the two of them. A source of inspiration for the duo of the ladybug and the black cat was one of Astruc's previous romantic relationships. Astruc stated that, as long as there was a villain in the show, a romantic relationship between Marinette and Adrien would be able to happen only under certain circumstances and would need to be handled carefully, commenting that such a relationship would be brittle and complicated.
Ladybug's costume was difficult to animate when it came to the show's original 2D version since it was red with black dots; the dots had to be in certain places and had to remain unmoved. In the 3D version, this problem disappeared since there was a model moving. In the 2D version, Marinette was supposed to be older than she currently is in the 3D version. The chibi design of Ladybug from the series Miraculous Chibi was conceived by character designer Angie Nasca. The bakery of Marinette's family was inspired by a real-life Parisian bakery.
Astruc commented that deciding how Ladybug would use a certain item created with the help of her Miraculous to defeat the villain takes a quarter of the writers' working time for an episode; Sébastien Thibaudeau, the writing director of Miraculous, stated that Ladybug is intelligent since she manages to do what in reality, several people can think of only when collaborating with each other. According to Thibaudeau, the writers wanted Marinette to not be based on clichés and to resemble a contemporary girl, able to create things and desiring to achieve something in life; they also wished Marinette's transformation into a self-assured superheroine to show that people can change and become stronger. Marinette is also meant to highlight that one has to fight and be open-minded and smart in order to be successful in life. Thibaudeau said Marinette tries to improve Adrien's difficult life. Fred Lenoir, also a writer for Miraculous, stated that Marinette's relationship with Adrien, both as civilians and as superheroes, is the main part of the show. Astruc mentioned that the third season of the series served as a test for Marinette; Mélanie Duval, another writer of Miraculous, commented that Marinette had a lot of obstacles to overcome in that season.
Jeremy Zag, the president of the animation studio Zagtoon, described Marinette as "a fresh and modern girl character who is in line with kids' and teens' lives today." The first two images depicting Ladybug released by Zag, one showing her portrait and the other featuring her on a rooftop in Paris, received enough attention to surround the world. Zag said the love situation that Marinette created alongside Adrien, their superhero identities, and their secrets represent some of the main parts of the story. Jared Wolfson, the executive producer of Miraculous, stated that the audience of girls had been waiting for "someone like a Spider-Man to come along" and that, because of Ladybug's character, they can now transform into her, becoming "stronger" and making "an effect in the world". With regard to Ladybug's character, Aton Soumache, the chief executive officer of the company Method Animation, said the producers had wished to "create a [glamorous] superhero character with a real European flair with Paris as backdrop," as a result of the previous lack of an action series centered on a female superhero.
Nicole D'Andria, a contributor to the creation of a Miraculous comic book, said that Ladybug is an admirable character. ZAG America's president of global consumer products, André Lake Mayer, stated that children are fond of Ladybug's character, and that the fans would enjoy playing as Ladybug in the Miraculous mobile running game. She felt that Ladybug "is instantaneously empowering to all women, all ages", saying that she "is mesmerizing both as Marinette and as Ladybug." Mayer stated that "even without knowing the story," "she is instinctively familiar, authentic and strong," adding that "Ladybug is an icon for wholesome girl empowerment." She also characterized Ladybug as "relatable," and as "unique."
Voice
Cristina Vee voices Marinette in the English dub. Vee stated that she loves Marinette, describing her as one of her favorite characters that she voiced. She said Marinette reminds her of the character Sailor Moon, commenting that "working on the show" had given her "the same feelings" as the ones she had experienced while "watching Sailor Moon growing up as a kid". She stated that she had auditioned for Marinette's role considerably, most likely more than she had previously done for other characters. Vee said she had first obtained the script for the audition around a year before being cast, adding that she had not received a reply after auditioning. Following this, she had acquired the script once again, and after the audition, she received two callbacks. She stated that ever since she had seen Marinette's character design and the script, she had known that "whoever was cast as this character, Ladybug, would be the luckiest girl", precisely "the luckiest voice actress". After reading the script for the first time, Vee felt that Marinette was a version "on paper" of herself, and that she had fallen in love with Ladybug immediately. She commented that she had not been aware of this show's existence before auditioning for Marinette's role, which surprised her since she kept herself up to date with anime-related news. After auditioning and before receiving the callbacks, she found out about the anime promotional video of the series. After seeing the video, she started wanting the role all the more.
Vee said that she resembles Marinette very much, sometimes being "pretty shy and clumsy" and stumbling over her "words and feet". While she liked that Marinette is affectionate toward Adrien and "mixes up her words sometimes," Vee regarded "fighting crime as Ladybug" as "her favorite part" of voicing her, stating that she enjoyed the moments when Marinette says her specific phrases for her transformation into Ladybug and for using her signature superheroine ability. She mentioned that Marinette and Adrien learning about each other's identities would be "exciting", adding that she wished to see how they would "work together in a different way to fight crime". Vee characterized this show as "amazing," stating that she had never seen an animation like this before and that "every episode is just so beautiful".
Many voice actors auditioned for the roles of the main characters, including Marinette's, when the casting for the series started. Ezra Weisz, the voice director of Miraculous, said that the staff in charge of the casting had wished Marinette to sound confident, yet not excessively proud as a superheroine, and they had wanted to find someone whose voice would be able to distinguish Marinette's civilian identity from her superheroine self. Weisz mentioned that Vee does a remarkable job on voicing Marinette. He stated that Vee "has a young heroine quality to her voice", adding that he had always wished Vee "to be an actual superhero" since he felt she is a superheroine "in real life". Weisz commented that Vee portrays the idea of a nervous teenager that becomes embarrassed around the person they love very well. He said that when Vee "transforms into Ladybug, she gets to put on her confidence", stating that this is precisely what she emanates in the vocal booth.
Jared Wolfson mentioned that Vee is energetic. He said she has a "beautiful personality", describing her as "so sweet", "so kind", and "great". He stated that in the recording studio, Vee "goes from sweet Marinette to Ladybug", adding that "she is Ladybug in that room" and that this is "so fun to watch".
Vee reprised her role as Marinette for Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie (2023).
Anouck Hautbois voices Marinette in the French version of the series. Thomas Astruc regarded Hautbois and the rest of the French cast as fantastic.
Appearances In the main series