Little Debbie: The Real Person Behind The Sweet Snack Mascot

Some food brand mascots are so iconic you'd swear they were real people. We hate to burst your bubble, but Betty Crocker, Aunt Jemima, the Quaker guy on the Quaker Oats box are all fictional characters designed by advertising agencies. On the other hand, the depictions of KFC's Colonel Sanders and Wendy (of Wendy's) were indeed based on actual people, and such is the case with the adorable auburn-haired moppet Little Debbie, the famous face of Little Debbie snack cakes. Debra McKee-Fowler is the Executive Vice President of the Little Debbie empire and serves on the company's Board of Directors. The granddaughter of founder O.D. McKee, McKee-Fowler was 4 years old when her iconic portrait first appeared on boxes of oatmeal cream pies. 

McKee and wife Ruth began selling cakes in 1933 for five cents apiece from the back of their 1928 Whippet. Their earnings allowed them to buy a down-on-its-luck bakery in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1934, where McKee invented the oatmeal cream pie. Times were rough, though, in Depression-era America, and the McKees struggled financially. "Succession"-worthy family disagreements nearly forced the McKees to retire, but they regained control in the late 1950s. 

In 1960, McKee made the fortuitous decision to sell the cakes in the first-ever family-size 12-pack box. Packaging supplier Bob Mosher had the idea of using a McKee family member as both the name and mascot for the cakes, and without telling McKee-Fowler's parents, Grandpa McKee named the cakes Little Debbie and commissioned his granddaughter's portrait to be the logo.

The portrait was created from a black-and-white photo by Pearl Mann, a successful advertising agency artist whose specialty was pin-up girls. McKee asked Mann to age up his granddaughter to 9 years old, and thus, the famous logo was born. Debra McKee-Fowler's parents apparently had no idea, and were none-too-pleased that their daughter was now the face of Little Debbie, until they saw the boxes in stores. 

Since its introduction to the world, the Little Debbie portrait has changed only twice since 1960; in 1985, when a fuller, lace-collared gingham shirt was added, and in 2013, when the lace collar was replaced with a rounded Peter Pan collar and the cowboy hat string removed. McKee-Fowler's image was used in award-winning TV commercials and in 1985, was transformed into a 25th anniversary doll. 

Despite her high public profile, McKee-Fowler has mostly remained behind the scenes. While in high school, she worked part-time at the company, and over the years, she's built an impressive executive resume within the family business before being elevated to its executive vice president. She has avoided using her fame for self-promotion and has been widely recognized for her extensive community work and for serving on a number of non-profit civic and Seventh Day Adventist Church-related boards. The original oatmeal cream pie is still the hands-down favorite and top seller along with Swiss Cake Rolls and Nutty Buddy Wafer Bars, and the company's website offers creative ideas for sprucing up its snack cakes into a last-minute dessert.