Barbabelle is a purple member of the Barbapapa species, one of the seven children hatched from eggs laid by Barbapapa and Barbamama and planted in the ground. Her distinctive blob-shaped physique includes arms and a defined head, lacking legs, with a more slender form reflecting female characteristics in her species. She often enhances her appearance with accessories like a pearl necklace and eyelashes.

Her passions revolve entirely around fashion, beauty, and personal aesthetics. She devotes herself to applying makeup, selecting stylish clothing, and adorning herself with jewelry, a focus central to her family role. Dramatic reactions and self-absorption define her personality, occasionally leading to selfish actions and temporary antagonism. She harbors a pronounced fear of small, hairy animals.

Like all Barbapapas, she possesses voluntary shapeshifting abilities, transforming into any object or form while consistently retaining her purple color and recognizable facial features. This character appears across adaptations, including the original books, the 1970s animated series, the travel-themed *Barbapapa Around the World*, and the 2019 reboot *Barbapapa: One Big Happy Family!*.

Globally, she is known as:
* Barbabella (Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, South Africa, Spain)
* Barbabelle (France, UK/USA), Барбарела (Bulgaria)
* 巴巴贝尔 (China mainland), 紫豆 (Hong Kong)
* Barbablonde/Barbalilla (Denmark)
* Barbapu (Finland)
* バーバベル (Japan)
* Barbafin (Norway, Sweden)
* Barbabela (Portugal).