Grumpy Cat

Arizona, 2012 — fluorescent light, a pet store, and the faint hum of an air conditioner. A small cat with a permanent scowl sat in her carrier while her owner scrolled through photos on a cracked phone. Within hours, those photos would circle the globe. She wasn’t angry — just born that way, a feline mix of dwarfism and misaligned charm. The internet saw its reflection in her discontent and made her an empire: mugs, plush toys, an agent, a movie deal. Her expression never changed. When she died in 2019, her estate was valued in the millions. The obituary called her “the face of the modern meme.” The face never approved.