This past weekend, we learned the news that G.G. Santiago, the visionary artist behind one of the most beloved 1980s cartoon characters — Rainbow Brite — has passed away. She was 82.
Santiago died peacefully at her home and art studio nestled in the Bristol fruit hills, the creative haven where she continued to work late into her life.
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Her creation became a Saturday morning cartoon TV staple for an entire generation, including all of us here at INYIM Media. Her bright, color‑splashed universe shaped childhood imaginations and left an imprint that still glows today.
🌈 INYIM Did You Know? — Rainbow Brite Edition
- G.G. Santiago created Rainbow Brite in 1984 while working for Hallmark Cards, where the character quickly blossomed into a full franchise.
- She was born in Riga, Latvia, in 1943, surviving wartime upheaval before immigrating and building her artistic career.
- The first Rainbow Brite TV special was “Rainbow Brite and the Kidnapped Rainbow” (1984), which launched the animated universe.
- Rainbow Land’s Color Kids were designed to embody emotional color — each hue represented a personality and mood.
- Murky Dismal, the show’s villain, was intentionally designed without color to contrast the show’s bright optimism.
- The franchise expanded into dolls, books, and video games, becoming one of the decade’s most successful girl‑centric multimedia brands.
- Starlite, Rainbow Brite’s horse, was marketed as “the most magnificent horse in the universe.”
- Santiago also created other whimsical art, including Enesco’s My Little Kitchen Fairies and the Franz Porcelain Skin Deep tattooed figurine series.
Bon Voyage!
Comment below. What’s your earliest Rainbow Brite memory?
