By Neia Balao
5:29am PDT, Sep 2, 2020
In the 1998 Disney flick "Mulan," Ming-Na Wen voiced the titular warrior — the daughter of war veteran Fa Zhou who disguises herself as a man and enlists in the army in order to protect her weary father.
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Following the release of "Mulan" in 1998, Ming-Na Wen continued to both act and voice act. She reprised her role as Mulan in the 2005 sequel "Mulan II" and in 2018's "Ralph Breaks the Internet." She's appeared in a variety of projects over the years — from films like 2008's "Prom Night" and 2016's "The Darkness" to television series like "Two and a Half Men" and "Stargate Universe." In 2013, Ming-Na landed the role of Melinda May on the Marvel series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." In 2020, the talented voice actress worked on two series — "Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens" and "Transformers: Siege." In March 2020, the actress took to Instagram to thank Buzzfeed for pointing out a very cool feat: "With her role in [2019's] 'The Mandalorian,' Ming-Na Wen is the only person to be a Disney princess, a Marvel superhero and a 'Star Wars' character, thus completing a 'Disney Hat Trick.'" Ming-Na is married to Eric Michael Zee, with whom she shares two children.
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In the 2010 Disney animated film "Tangled," actress-singer Mandy Moore voiced Rapunzel — an abducted recluse with magical long hair who's actually a young princess with dreams of leaving her lonely tower and leading an adventurous life.
After headlining "Tangled," Mandy Moore starred in the 2012 romantic comedy "Love, Wedding, Marriage" alongside Kellan Lutz. That same year, she reprised her voice role as Rapunzel in the short film "Tangled Ever After," then did it again from 2017 to 2020 on the Disney TV show "Tangled: The Series." In 2016, Mandy landed a starring role on the hit NBC family drama-comedy series "This Is Us," for which she garnered a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress and an Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a drama. The "A Walk to Remember" alum also appeared in 2017's "47 Meters Down," 2018's "The Darkest Minds" and 2019's "Midway." In March 2020, Mandy released her seventh studio album, "Silver Landings" — her first in 11 years. She collaborated on the project with second husband Taylor Goldsmith, whom she wed in 2018 following her 2015 split from first husband Ryan Adams.
At just 16, Auli'i Cravalho starred in her breakout role as the voice of Moana — the ambitious daughter of the village chief who's picked to restore the heart of Te Fiti — in the 2016 Disney animated feature film of the same name.
After making her acting debut in 2016's "Moana," Auli'i Cravalho has slowly but surely worked to add to her roster of credits. In 2018, she made her television acting debut on the NBC series "Rise," which lasted for one season. She showed off her vocal chops once more in November 2019 as Ariel in ABC's "The Little Mermaid Live!" — a live-action version of the popular Disney flick. The actress-singer, who came out as bisexual in April 2020, most recently appeared in the 2020 Netflix film "All Together Now."
In the 2009 Disney animated feature film "The Princess and the Frog," Anika Noni Rose voiced Tiana, a hardworking waitress with dreams of opening her own restaurant who's turned into a frog after she kisses a prince who'd been turned into an amphibian by a diabolical witch doctor.
Prior to voicing Princess Tiana in "The Princess and the Frog" in 2009, Anika Noni Rose rose to fame for her work on Broadway: She won a Tony Award for best featured actress in a musical for her 2004 portrayal in "Caroline, or Change." She also landed a starring role in the 2006 Oscar-winning musical film "Dreamgirls," in which she starred alongside Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson. Since her Tiana days, Anika has appeared in a slew of projects from Broadway musicals to films to television series. In 2013, she played Angelica Schuyler in the acclaimed musical "Hamilton" for the Vassar College Workshop; in 2018, she appeared in the Sam Levinson-directed flick "Assassination Nation"; and from 2015 to 2016, she played Liz Babbitt on TV's "Bates Motel." Anika will next appear in the 2020 Netflix holiday film "Jingle Jangle."
Irene Bedard voiced Pocahontas in the 1995 animated film of the same name. She was the adventurous, confident daughter of Chief Powhatan who, against her father's strict orders, met and fell in love with white foreign explorer Captain John Smith.
After lending her voice to the Native American Disney princess, Irene Bedard appeared in the 1998 series "Smoke Signals" as Suzy Song. That same year, she reprised her role as Pocahontas in "Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World" and did it again in 2018's "Ralph Breaks the Internet." Irene has appeared in a slew of projects — from starring in films like 2015's "Songs My Brothers Taught Me" and 2019's "The Harbinger" to making guest appearances on TV series like "The Outer Limits" in 2001 and "Westworld" in 2018. In 2020, Irene appeared on the crime procedural "FBI: Most Wanted." The talented actress shares a child with ex-husband Deni Wilson.
In the 2012 Disney animated film "Brave," Kelly Macdonald voiced Princess Merida — the headstrong 16-year-old daughter of Scottish rulers who defies royal expectations when she refuses to marry.
Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald went on to appear in films like 2012's "Anna Karenina," 2016's "The Journey Is the Destination" and 2018's "Holmes & Watson." She also won raves on the HBO period crime drama "Boardwalk Empire" from 2010 to 2014 and the 2019 miniseries "The Victim." In 2016, Kelly landed a starring role on "Hated in the Nation," an episode of the acclaimed Charlie Brooker-created sci-fi series "Black Mirror." In 2020, she appeared on the BBC procedural series "Line of Duty." Kelly shares two children with Scottish musician Dougie Payne, the bassist in the band Travis, from whom she separated in 2017.
In the 1992 Disney animated film "Aladdin," Linda Larkin voiced Princess Jasmine — the strong-willed princess of Agrabah who's become disillusioned with her life of luxury.
Two years after "Aladdin" premiered, Linda Larkin reprised her role as Jasmine in the "Aladdin" Disney animated television series that ran from 1994 to 1995. She would go on to voice Princess Jasmine again on an episode of "Hercules: The Animated Series" in 1999, "House of Mouse" in 2002, "Disney Comics in Motion" in 2018 and 2019 and in the film "Ralph Breaks the Internet" in 2018. Linda has also appeared in movies like 1999's "Runaway Bride" and 2007's "You Belong to Me" and television series like "Trinity" in 1998 and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" in 2007. In 2011, along with Anika Noni Rose and Jodi Benson — two women who've also voiced Disney princesses — Linda was honored at the Disney Legends Awards for her voice work as Jasmine.
In the 1989 Disney film "The Little Mermaid," Jodi Benson voiced Princess Ariel — the seventh-born daughter of underwater ruler King Triton who longs to be human.
Jodi Benson not only provided Ariel's speaking voice in "The Little Mermaid" films and television series — she provided her singing voice too! In 1999, Jodi showed off her voice acting skills once more when she played Barbie in the 1999 Golden Globe-winning film "Toy Story 2" and again in the 2010 Academy Award-winning sequel "Toy Story 3." Since "The Little Mermaid," Jodi has crafted an impressive list of voice acting credits including Thumbelina in the 1994 film of the same name and Helen of Troy on the 1998 "Hercules" series. In 2018, along with fellow Disney princess voice actresses, Jodi reprised her role as Ariel once more in "Ralph Breaks the Internet." Jodi has been married to Ray Benson, with whom she shares two children, since 1984.
In the 1991 Disney film "Beauty and the Beast," Paige O'Hara voiced Belle, the bookish daughter of a local inventor who becomes imprisoned and falls in love with a misunderstood prince-turned-beast.
Actress-singer Paige O'Hara went on to reprise Belle in 1997's "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas," 1998's "Belle's Magical World" and 2018's "Ralph Breaks the Internet." In addition to voicing beloved Princess Belle, Paige appeared in two films — 2001's "Legend of the Candy Cane" and 2007's musical rom-com "Enchanted." She also lent her voice to two television series after "Beauty and the Beast" debuted — "Adventures from the Book of Virtues" in 1996 and "Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe In Santa" in 2002. In 1995, Paige played Fantine in "Les Misérables" on Broadway.
In 1959's "Sleeping Beauty," Mary Costa voiced Princess Aurora — a cursed royal who can only be awakened by a kiss from her one true love, Prince Philip, on her 16th birthday.
In 1959 at just 22, Mary Costa landed the role of Princess Aurora. Aside from being a talented voice actress, Mary is also an operatic soprano — she portrayed Tytania in the U.S. premiere of Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 1961 and made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Violetta in "La Traviata" in 1964. Mary was also famously asked by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy to sing at the memorial for late President John F. Kennedy in Los Angeles in 1963. In 1971, Mary also sang at the inaugural concert for the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. She appeared in two films following "Sleeping Beauty" — 1972's "The Great Waltz" and 2000's "Titus Andronicus." Mary is also an ambassador for Childhelp, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing and treating children who have been abused.
In the 1950 film of the same name, Ilene Woods voiced Cinderella — a girl mistreated by her evil stepmother and stepsisters who falls in love with Prince Charming.
In 1963 — 13 years after she voiced "Cinderella" — Ilene Woods married Ed Shaughnessy, the drummer in "The Tonight Show" band with whom she had two sons. She went on to become a spokeswoman for United Cerebral Palsy telethons. She was honored with a Disney Legend Award in 2003 for her voice work in "Cinderella." In 2010, Mary passed away in Los Angeles at 81.
In the 1937 Disney animated film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," Adriana Caselotti voiced Snow White — a young princess who befriends seven forest-dwelling miners and dreams of living happily ever after.
As Snow White, Adriana Caselotti can claim the distinction of being the first actress to voice the main character of Disney's first-ever animated feature film. In 1994, she was honored with a Disney Legend Award — the first female voice actor to be recognized for such an accomplishment. She appeared in two more films in uncredited roles — 1939's "The Wizard of Oz" and the 1946 Frank Capra movie "It's a Wonderful Life." In 1997, Adriana passed away in Los Angeles at 80.
