Nani

Nani is the older sister of Lilo Pelekai, and after their parents were unexpectedly killed in a car accident one night during a storm, Nani, as Lilo's closest living relative, was appointed as her legal guardian some time afterward. In the movie, Nani is said to be eighteen, and Lilo is said to be six, making them twelve years apart in age.

As a result of having to support herself and Lilo, she is often stressed and busy. Her intense schedule often interferes with her relationship with her boyfriend, David, and somewhat prevents her from having friends. He makes several attempts to treat Nani on a date, only to meet rejection due to her busy schedule. Despite their sometimes rocky relationship, Nani and Lilo care deeply for each other, and this strong bond is shown continuously throughout the film. Through her sister and the loss of their folks, Nani is shown to have a motherly side, and often makes decisions based on Lilo's best interest, alone. In the original film, her custody over Lilo was put to the test at the hands of social worker Cobra Bubbles, who, despite regretting the thought of having to separate the two sisters, is looking out for Lilo's best interest, as well, knowing she needs a figure who can handle the task of raising a child.

Two things that Nani is known for are her inability to hold down a full-time job, partly due to the antics of her sister and Stitch, and for being a terrible cook, although she excels greatly in math and chemistry.

Nani is a kind, mature, and caring individual. Unfortunately, as a result of her busy job and the stress of taking care of and providing for her ohana (at first Lilo and then including Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley), she tends to be fairly temperamental and sarcastic with everyone. Jumba at one point refers to her wrath scarier than his former partner Dr. Hämsterviel's. While this is usually reasonable, considering how Lilo and Stitch tend to disobey the rules and get into trouble with society, at times her temper gets the better of her and she jumps to conclusions, which causes her not to listen to the whole story. An example is a time Lilo and Stitch were talking with Mertle's mother in front of the movie theater, which made Nani think they were going to the movies when she said not to (when in reality they were actually experiment hunting) and didn't even let them explain. When she really stressed and angry, she tends to uncharacteristically snap at Lilo, only to regret it when Lilo's not in sight.

Nonetheless, she is protective of her family, particularly Lilo, and will attack anyone who harms them and defend them from any threat. She loves Lilo more than anyone or anything in the world and does all she can to keep her from harm. She is kind and hardworking, and she proves that while she is somewhat irritable, she can also be compassionate and understanding as she usually forgives Lilo and Stitch for their antics. Just like her little sister, she loves and misses her parents very much and is usually depressed on the anniversary of the day they died.

She is the breadwinner of her family and loves Lilo more than anything, but at times is ashamed she didn't make more of her life. From the number of surfing trophies she has in her room, it is possible that she could've had a successful career in surfing or even had gone to college had it not been for the death of her parents. As a result of their death, she decided to devote her time to taking care of Lilo.

Nani is a beautiful young woman; strongly built though fairly slender with wide hips, with olive skin, black hair that reaches a little past her shoulders and brown eyes. Throughout the film, she can be seen wearing a number of outfits, though her most prominent (in the film) tends to be a pinkish beige short-sleeved belly shirt with a heart designed onto it, blue jean shorts, white socks, brown hiking boots, blue (sometimes brown or dark yellow) sandals (on her occasion). In subsequent appearances in the franchise, and in certain points of the original movie, Nani is often seen wearing a blue belly-shirt, beige calf-long pants, and sandals. One of her more iconic outfits is her blue and green striped bikini, which she wears during the "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" scene.