- 4/28/2024
We knew they looked familiar! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for stars whose likenesses were used as inspiration for a Disney princesses’ appearance.
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00:00 "This is maddening. I know I've seen that face before."
00:02 Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:04 And today, we're counting down our picks for stars whose likenesses were used as inspiration for a Disney princess's appearance.
00:11 "Your Imperial Highness, Guamulani."
00:14 Number 10. Anika Noni Rose, Tiana.
00:19 "I see so many of my expressions up there, and it's so funny to me when I can recognize myself like that."
00:28 Coming from a theatrical background, Anika Noni Rose became widely known to film-going audiences with the movie adaptation of Dream Girls.
00:35 "Dream Girls keep you dreaming your whole life through."
00:38 Years later, that talent as a singer and actress would allow her to lend her voice to Disney's first African-American princess, Tiana, in The Princess and the Frog.
00:47 "A princess. You just kissed yourself a princess."
00:52 "And I'm about to do it again."
00:54 Of course her voice wasn't the only thing that Rose lent to the character.
00:58 Anika Noni Rose so strikingly resembles her character, right down to the dimples, which makes us want her cast in a live-action adaptation all the more.
01:07 "I certainly didn't know that she was going to look that much like me. And there are times, I think in one of these posters, like the eyebrows up, that is so completely my face. It's hysterical to me."
01:17 Number 9. Lily Cole, Merida.
01:20 "You're supposed to be immortal, remember? Honestly, it's gonna be okay, Dad."
01:25 "How can you understand? You're a child."
01:30 The Scottish princess from Disney-Pixar's 2012 outing Brave possessed an absolutely iconic look with her striking shock of vibrant red hair.
01:38 That unique mane was so integral to the character design that Pixar actually created a new software program in order to animate it realistically.
01:46 "We realized we needed something to preserve the structure of the curl, but not impede the overall motion of the hair. Kind of like digital hairspray."
01:54 "Sssh. Sorry."
01:56 The idea for her hair, along with her overall look, was largely inspired by trend-setting model and actress Lily Cole,
02:03 perhaps best known for her starring role in the Terry Gilliam film The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
02:08 "God's sakes, Dad. Put 'em up. Come on. Always taking the easy way out."
02:13 Cole confirmed that she met with Brave's art director Tia Cratter, who based the fiery princess's look off her.
02:18 In addition to the princess's hair, freckles, and blue eyes, even her face shape, teeth, and nose are reminiscent of Cole's features.
02:26 "They really did everything. The hands, the neck, the head, the back, the hair, etc. So it was a really full-on process, but quite extraordinary to see."
02:34 Number 8. Jean Harlow - Snow White
02:37 "It's a girl!"
02:40 "She's bitey pretty."
02:42 "She's beautiful. Just like an angel."
02:46 The first-ever Disney princess was renowned for being the fairest in all the land,
02:50 [Music]
02:54 so it shouldn't come as a shock that a number of fair Hollywood starlets helped inspire her look.
02:58 Chief among those was Jean Harlow, who, despite playing roles different from the wholesome princess in Demeanor,
03:04 was a dead ringer for the character.
03:06 "How you comin', kitten?"
03:08 "I've told you a million times not to talk to me when I'm doing my liches."
03:13 Harlow's trademark thin eyebrows, bold Cupid bow red lips, and even hairstyle are evident in Snow White's design.
03:20 Both were young objects of desire, albeit different kinds of desire.
03:24 Harlow was a sex symbol in the 1930s.
03:26 However, her career was cut tragically short when she died the same year Snow White was released at just 26 years old.
03:33 "Must you keep your eyes on me all the time?"
03:36 "It's all in the line of duty, and I love my work."
03:38 Number 7.
03:39 Grace Kelly, Cinderella
03:41 "The prince, sire, swears he'll marry none but the girl who fits this slipper."
03:46 We know for sure that actress Helene Stanley helped to inspire a number of Disney princesses,
03:51 including Cinderella, as Stanley served as the live-action model for her.
03:55 Some speculate, however, that Grace Kelly also inspired the princess's look.
03:59 "Oh, please. If you'll excuse me, I'll see what's keeping Mama. Mama is so eager to see you."
04:06 While she had not yet risen to the heights that she would be known for later in life,
04:10 Grace Kelly was already a model and Broadway star when Cinderella released in 1950.
04:15 Even more than her blonde locks, Kelly's fashion sense is speculated to have had an impact on
04:20 Cinderella's ball gown.
04:21 "It's a beautiful dress."
04:23 Funnily enough, the character's ascent to royalty is only rivaled by Kelly's own,
04:28 who would transform from Broadway star to Hollywood A-lister to, eventually, the Princess of Monaco.
04:34 "Grace Kelly, motion picture star, has played her greatest real-life starring role,
04:39 as Princess Gratia Patricia of Monaco. For her, it is not the story's end, but the beginning."
04:46 Number 6. Irene Bedard - Pocahontas
04:49 "The more they learned, the more Pocahontas' story captivated the imaginations of the Disney
04:54 filmmakers. But to make the characters completely believable, they had to find the right actors to
04:59 provide the characters' voices."
05:01 Despite being the only Disney princess based on an actual person,
05:05 the animated version of Pocahontas bears little physical resemblance to the historical figure.
05:10 She does, however, take her look from another real person closely linked to the character,
05:14 her voice actress Irene Bedard.
05:16 "When I see you wear that necklace, you look just like your mother."
05:20 With Bedard primarily working in live-action, it's no surprise that her physicality and
05:25 general look were present in the final product. That live-action work has stretched across
05:29 decades, from the leading role in Smoke Signals to Netflix's newest avatar The Last Airbender.
05:34 She even appeared in Terrence Malick's The New World, this time playing Pocahontas' mother.
05:39 "There's something about, um, her, uh, spirit in my life, you know what I mean? So,
05:47 I guess in that way, it's, it has had that surreal quality."
05:51 Number 5. Jennifer Connelly - Jasmine
05:54 "She's got these eyes that just, and this hair, wow, and her smile."
05:59 During the late 1980s and early 90s, Jennifer Connelly had become known for being one of the
06:04 most stunningly beautiful and talented upcoming actresses in Hollywood. When Mark Hen began
06:09 designing Jasmine, who was meant to be as lovely as she was headstrong, he looked to at least
06:14 three sources. "A fine prize for any prince to marry."
06:19 Those were his sister, some mysterious person he saw at a theme park, and of course Connelly,
06:24 whose facial structure, most notably her eyebrows, were apparent in The Princess of Agrabah.
06:28 "Hey, her head don't come off." "Of course it doesn't."
06:33 "Oh, she right? The arm." "Hey, where you going with her head like that?"
06:38 Both Jasmine and her muse Connelly would continue their fame in the decades that followed.
06:42 While Jasmine has gone on to be one of Disney's most beloved princesses, Connelly would move
06:47 into even more powerful roles, taking home an Academy Award for her role in A Beautiful Mind.
06:52 "It's life, John. Activities of animal. Just add meaning."
06:58 Number 4. Ming-Na Wen - Mulan
07:01 "Maybe what I really wanted was to prove I could do things right.
07:05 So when I looked in the mirror, I'd see someone worthwhile."
07:11 Disney didn't need to look far when finding someone to model Mulan after. In addition to
07:16 her voice work, Ming-Na Wen has been a prolific live-action actor both before and after being
07:21 cast as the girl who saved China. In the book Disney Princesses Beyond the Tiara, it was revealed
07:26 that Mark Hen, lead animator of Mulan and most of the princesses in the Disney Renaissance,
07:32 emulated her voice performer. "I'm here."
07:34 "It isn't so much sitting there and sketching as much as I enjoy observing what Ming-Na does."
07:40 While he would animate Mulan and her alter ego Ping slightly differently, both drew from
07:45 Wen's personality and physicality. It's no wonder, then, that more than most voice actors,
07:50 she's become intrinsically linked to the princess. "I had no idea that it would have that kind of
07:55 impact. It just goes to show you that it doesn't matter if it's an animation, but if the story is
08:00 great." Number 3. Natalie Wood - Belle
08:04 "I'm pretty. I'm a pretty girl, Mama."
08:09 As she had done with a number of other princesses in the '80s and '90s,
08:13 Sherri Stoner lent her acting to serve as an animation reference model for Belle.
08:17 While many of Stoner's mannerisms were put into the character, animators also looked at a number
08:22 of famous actresses in order to design the bookish beauty's appearance. The likes of Grace Kelly,
08:27 Vivien Leigh, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and perhaps more than any others, Natalie Wood
08:33 influenced Belle's features. "See the pretty girl in that mirror there. Who can that attractive
08:39 girl be? Such a pretty face, such a pretty dress, such a pretty smile, such a pretty me."
08:46 After initial designs, animators sought to make Belle appear quote,
08:49 "less perfect" while still being the titular beauty of the film.
08:52 "Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, beauty and the beast."
09:01 With Wood being considered a stunning actress, but who never necessarily became a fashionista
09:05 or sex symbol, it's easy to see why she was chosen to inform Belle's whole girl-next-door vibe.
09:11 "I wonder why I didn't see it there before."
09:15 Number 2. Alyssa Milano - Ariel
09:18 "Oh no! I can't believe it, how'd you know I was here?"
09:21 "I have my ways."
09:23 Known first and foremost for her vibrant red hair, it may come as a surprise that Princess
09:28 Ariel drew inspiration from a famous brunette. At the time of Ariel's conception, teen celeb of the
09:33 80s, Alyssa Milano was starring on the popular sitcom Who's the Boss? "You're kidding."
09:38 Her expressive face and mannerisms, as well as her character's personality, were utilized to
09:44 bring the quirky mermaid to life, along with some impressive live model work from Sherry Stoner.
09:48 "You were doing this, or if you would, um, like, bite your lip at a different time and you're
09:55 thinking, they would just light up." At the time, Milano had no idea that she had inspired such a
10:01 popular character. That is, until she was asked to host a making-of featurette of the film.
10:05 "And I got a sneak preview of the movie, and I loved it, and so will you."
10:10 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:14 Catherine Beaumont, Alice. A voice actor, live-action stand-in, and inspiration all in one.
10:21 "I'm sure that I know right from wrong, and I have the best intentions.
10:28 Life should be such a merry song."
10:33 Margaret Carey, Tinkerbell. A dancer who helped define the magical fairy.
10:39 "They would show me, um, storyboarding that they did, what they had in mind, and they would talk
10:45 very quietly to me of what they wanted, and they would mark the area that they wanted me to, um,
10:52 work in."
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11:09 Number 1. Audrey Hepburn, Aurora.
11:12 "Let me see your profile again. I know, I know you."
11:17 The very definition of grace and beauty in the mid-20th century,
11:20 it's no wonder that Audrey Hepburn served as the initial inspiration for Sleeping Beauty.
11:25 According to Disney animator Ron Dias, right from the character's inception,
11:29 Aurora was drawn to look like the legendary British actress. Even as her design evolved,
11:34 though, and she moved from brunette to blonde, her face shape, figure,
11:38 and features continued to bear a striking resemblance to the fashion icon.
11:42 "I know, I'm a princess at a ball, and the bird is really prince charming,
11:47 turned into a bird by a wicked sorcerer. But we've decided not to let it spoil the ball,
11:51 and to go right on dancing as if nothing had happened."
11:54 Hepburn moved with elegance in every step due to her affluent upbringing and background in
11:59 ballet, which was also reflected in the way Aurora moved. As a result,
12:03 few Disney princesses were quite as refined as Briar Rose.
12:07 "A crown to wear in grace and beauty, as is thy right and royal duty."
12:14 Which actress inspired your favorite Disney princess? Let us know in the comments below.
12:19 "Do we know her?"
12:20 "Well, the prince certainly seems to. But I know I've never seen her."
12:25 "Nor I. But she certainly is. Wait, there is something familiar about her."
12:32 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
12:37 And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
12:42 [Music]
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