Gayla Rienette Peevey (born March 8, 1943) is a former singer and child star from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is best known for her recording of "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" (Columbia 4-40106, 1953). Peevey recorded the novelty song when she was 10 years old. In 1960, under the name Jamie Horton, she had a minor hit with the song "Robot Man", a Connie Francis cover.^[1]

Her family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma, in 1948. Prior to moving to California, Gayla attended Columbus Elementary School.^[2] Peevey graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Education degree.^[3] She eventually left teaching.^[3] She is married to Cliff Henderson. They have a daughter, Sydney Forest, and three grandchildren.^[4] Following her retirement from performing, Peevey runs her own jingle advertisement company and sings in church.^[5]

The Oklahoma City Zoo capitalized upon the popularity of "I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" with a fundraising campaign to "buy a hippo for Gayla". The fund raised $3,000 (equivalent to US$34,164 in 2023), and a baby hippopotamus named Matilda was purchased and given to Peevey, which she then donated to the zoo in 1953.^[6] Matilda spent 45 years in the Oklahoma City Zoo, and then died at age 47 from a heart attack in 1998 while being transferred to the Walt Disney World's Disney's Animal Kingdom, in Orlando, Florida.^[7]