Pearl Krabs

Pearl Krabs
SpongeBob SquarePants character
First appearance
Created byStephen Hillenburg
Designed byStephen Hillenburg
Voiced byLori Alan
Portrayed byJai'len Josey (Broadway)
In-universe information
SpeciesSperm whale
GenderFemale
OccupationAssistant at the Bikini Bottom Mall
Family
Relatives
  • Victor Krabs (grandfather)
  • Betsy Krabs (grandmother)
  • Redbeard Krabs (great-grandfather)
  • Sally (great-aunt)
  • Unnamed aunt
  • Krabs' nephews (cousins)

Pearl Krabs is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. She is voiced by actress Lori Alan and first appeared in the season one episode "Squeaky Boots" on September 17, 1999. She was created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, who was inspired to design a whale character while supervising whale watches at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California.

Pearl is an adolescent sperm whale who lives in a hollow anchor with her father Eugene "Mr." Krabs, the greedy founder of the popular Krusty Krab restaurant. Pearl will inherit the restaurant and become its owner when she grows older. She is currently employed at the local shopping center, the Bikini Bottom Mall. The identity and whereabouts of Pearl's unseen mother have never been explained directly by the characters. While supplemental materials indicate her father married a whale who gave birth to Pearl, Hillenburg was strongly against revealing this in an episode.

Critical reception for Pearl has been largely positive. Her depiction as the child of a single parent has been praised by critics as an example of SpongeBob's ability to challenge social norms. She has been featured frequently in a variety of merchandise, such as plush toys and video games, and at amusement park attractions. She appears in the 2004 feature film The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, the 2017 Broadway musical based on the series, in Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years as an infant, and as a young child in The Patrick Star Show.