Disney Princesses & The Real Women Behind Them

Have you ever wondered what the face of the real person behind your favourite Disney Princess looked like?

Was she as beautiful as your heroine? Did she look like anything like her at all?

I know i have long wondered if the woman who sung for Ariel in The Little Mermaid, had long , flowing red hair to match her characters, or if the voice behind Snow White had hair as black an ebony too.

So, while this is not strictly beauty related (though i think perhaps it could be loosely)  i decided that after 26 years, id like to know who these women were a take a look at  and the faces behind the enchanting and mesmerising voices that filled my childhood.

Snow White

Adriana Caselotti 

Adriana was 18 when Walt Disney personally chose her for the voice of Snow White in his first full length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). He was looking for a fresh and natural voice, and asked her father if any of his students might be suitable, but on hearing Adriana's voice realized his search was over. It was the days of studio contracts and indenture, and Walt wanted to keep the mystery of the Snow White voice, so except for a bit part in The Wizard of Oz (1939) she was in no other film.

Sleeping Beauty

 Mary Costa 

In 1952, after meeting people at a party with her future husband, director Frank Tashlin, she auditioned for the part of Disney's Princess Aurora. Walt Disney called her personally within hours of the audition to inform her that the part was hers.

The Little Mermaid

 Jodi Benson

Jodi Benson, a native of Rockford, Illinois, has received worldwide recognition and critical acclaim as the voice of "Ariel" in the Academy Award-winning Walt Disney animated feature film The Little Mermaid (1989), as well as the bubbly voice of "Tour Guide Barbie" in Disney's Toy Story 2 (1999), winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture.

Pocahontas

Irene Bedard (Above right)

Daughter of an Inupiat Eskimo and a French Canadian/Cree she was the physical model for the Pocahontas character in the Disney films. She was the voice of Pocahontas in the Disney animated film, and went on to play Pocahontas's mother in 2005's "The New World."

Judy Kuhn (Below)

Judy sang the title role in Disney's animated film, Pocahontas, as well as in the straight-to-video sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. She also sang as Pocahontas in If You Can Dream, a Disney Princess song

 

 

 Beauty & The Beast

Paige O’Hara 

O'Hara's most notable appearance on screen was as the voice of Belle in the animated Disney film Beauty and the Beast, a role she has reprised for all subsequent spin-offs and sequels of the film, including the Square Enix/Disney Kingdom Hearts video game series. Beauty and the Beast was nominated for numerous Academy Awards (including the Best Picture and three nominations for Best Original Song), and consequently, she also performed live at the Oscars in 1992.

Cinderella

 Ilene Woods

Her songwriter- friends Mack David and Jerry Livingston asked her, as a favour, to record two of their newest songs, not telling her that they were for the upcoming Disney animated feature Cinderella (1950). When Walt Disney heard her voice on the recordings, he chose her to voice that film's title role

 Princess Jasmine from Aladdin  

Linda Larkin

She is best known for providing the speaking voice of Princess Jasmine in the movie Aladdin and various Aladdin sequels and spin-offs, as well as in the Kingdom Hearts video game series. In order for her to voice Princess Jasmine she had to lower her voice due to Disney saying her voice was too high for Jasmine's voice

Now, i don't know about you but i think both Snow White and Sleeping Beauty look a LOT like the women who voiced them (Princess Aurora and Mary Costa even have the same eybrows!) - yes the lady behind Pocahontas' voice does too, but then she was the model for her character.

What do you think, have i unintentionally shattered your illusions? Did you image them to look as they do, and more important, what was your favourite Disney film? 

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