One of the key actresses in the history of Walt Disney has just died at the age of 97

In 1904, J. M. Barrie created Peter Pan as a play. In it, along with all the key elements of the saga we know today, there was a small fairy who, unknowingly, would become Walt Disney’s mascot a few decades later: Tinker Bell. In 1953, she went from being a secondary character to becoming famous worldwide thanks to the animated film, and since then she has even starred in her own saga of 6 movies. And it all started with an actress.

Farewell, Tinkerbell

That’s right: the original Tinker Bell from Disney, on which the rest of her appearances are based, was inspired by Margaret Kerry. She was not the first choice for the role, though: initially, the animators used Ginni Mack, a 19-year-old who worked at the studio, as a face model, and Kathryn Beaumont, who had previously been used as a model for Alice, for the body. However, they were looking for something sexier and more adult for Tinker Bell.

And what is sexier than the woman chosen as “The most beautiful legs in the world”? Although some claim that Tinkerbell was actually based on Marilyn Monroe, it is more than confirmed that Kerry was her absolute reference. And now, at the age of 97, she has passed away in North Carolina, leaving the world of animation orphaned. Rest in peace.

The truth is that her life was so rich that she even released her own autobiography and ended up being the host of a Christian morning show on the radio for 12 years. Let no one say that Tinkerbell never flew beyond.