*Pauline is a character who first appears in the Donkey Kong arcade game. Here, she was once a damsel-in-distress whom Mario had to rescue from Donkey Kong. Pauline has not often reappeared in the Mario franchise and related media, mainly because Princess Peach has taken the main role of damsel-in-distress since her first appearance in Super Mario Bros.

Currently Pauline is depicted as having pale to dull blue eyes, long wavy burgundy-brown hair, and pale skin. She has large slanted eyes with four long eyelashes at the top and three smaller lashes at the bottom (a total of seven), coupled with long defined arching eyebrows that thin out as they extend. Her nose is triangular in shape with an oval shaped face and pointed chin. She is typically shown wearing violet eye shadow, dark red lipstick and nail polish.

Pauline has a curvy hourglass figure, in comparison to other human female characters. She is most often shown as average height when compared to other adult human females in the Mario series, although some sources such as StreetPass Mii Plaza's "Nintendo Heroines/Starlets" 3D puzzle with Peach, Rosalina, and herself indicated that she was at least as tall as Rosalina (who is shown to be very tall), and is also shown in Super Mario Odyssey to be fairly tall among the New Donk City populace, especially in comparison to Mario. In Mario Tennis Aces, she is shown to be slightly shorter than Rosalina but was still taller than Peach and Daisy.

Pauline wears a fitted red halter neck dress with a bow knot connecting the straps behind her neck, and a low cut back. The dress, when not ripped, finishes just above her ankles and loosens to flair out about a third of the way down her legs. Pauline's accessories include a gold bangle on her left arm and large gold bead and teardrop style earrings. She also wears black ankle strap high heel pumps. In Super Mario Odyssey, she wears a red-colored pantsuit as well as a purple hat while out in public, and her trademark dress during the festival, however with sparkly details.

In Mario Tennis Aces, she wears a red sundress derived from her trademark dress, and black and white sneakers resembling her heel pumps. Similarly to Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina, she wears a yellow and white sweatband on her right wrist that matches the color of her earrings. In addition, she appears to have a black sports bra barely visible under her dress, and she wears a red sun visor over her forehead with a golden heart on the left side of the brim.

Until Super Mario Odyssey, Pauline did not have much character development. She is shown to be friendly, happy, kind, and even business minded, seen when she tests the quality of the Mario Toy Company’s Mini Mario toys in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! She is also quick to forgive others, especially apparent when it comes to Donkey Kong’s numerous abductions of her. She is also implied to enjoy games, which is shown when she opens a gaming theme park called Mini-Land with Donkey Kong in Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move. Pauline also acts as a mediator between Mario and Donkey Kong. As mayor, she is apparently adept at city planning, as one of the residents of New Donk City mentioned that he was surprised at how fast she managed to get the city up and running again. In Super Mario Odyssey Pauline has been given more character (re)development overall. She enjoys peppy and jazz music because it brings people together, frequently practices singing to prepare for the next New Donk City Festival, has such a love for New Donk City that she often takes walks to admire it all, and also mentions she adores cake, stating that "It has to be 'good' cake and 'not that package stuff'". On another hand, however, she admits that she is not good at fixing machinery, and implies that she is also bad with flowers. She also goes on walks as a hobby due to her love for New Donk City, and has indicated that she likes Fried Mushrooms and Flower Stew (the former due to being a massive Mushroom fan), but is not fond of Leaf Salad.*