Mrs. Puff

Mrs. Penelope Puff is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. She is voiced by Mary Jo Catlett and was created and designed by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. She is an anthropomorphic pufferfish who works as SpongeBob's teacher at the town boating school. Mrs. Puff was created in response to a request from Nickelodeon executives during the pitching process to put SpongeBob in a school. This conflicted with Hillenburg's vision for him to be an adult; he compromised by creating Mrs. Puff as a boat-driving teacher, and subsequently put him in a driving school, allowing the show to start production. The character has received a positive critical reception and has become well known in popular culture for her distinctive voice and temperamental personality. In 2001, Mary Jo Catlett received an Annie Award nomination for her voice-over work as Mrs. Puff along with Tom Kenny as the title character, making them the first SpongeBob cast members to be nominated for an award. Mrs. Puff is featured regularly in a variety of merchandise, such as plush toys and video games, and has appeared at theme parks and in Toyota commercials.