Paige O'Hara (born Donna Paige Helmintoller; May 10, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and painter. O'Hara began her career as a Broadway actress in 1975 when she portrayed Della in ''

The Gift of the Magi "The Gift of the Magi" is a short story by American writer O. Henry, first published in 1905. The story tells of a young husband and wife and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little mone ...

''. In 1991, she made her motion picture debut in

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'', in which she voiced the film's heroine, Belle. Following the critical and commercial success of ''Beauty and the Beast'', O'Hara reprised her role as Belle in the film's three direct-to-video follow-ups, '' Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas'' (1997), '' Belle's Magical World'' (1998), '' Belle's Tales of Friendship'' (1999), and for cameo appearances in ''

Ralph Breaks the Internet ''Ralph Breaks the Internet'' is a 2018 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is the sequel to the 2012 film ''Wreck-It Ralph''. The film was directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnston (filmmaker), Phil Joh ...

'' (2018) and '' Once Upon a Studio'' (2023).

Early life

O'Hara began acting at the age of four, attending acting classes in her home state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It was not until she was 12 years old that she developed an interest in singing and enrolled in a performing arts high school. O'Hara cites American actress and singer

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

as one of her idols.

Career

Broadway and stage

O'Hara made her first appearance on the Broadway stage as Della in ''The Gift of the Magi'' in 1975. She was later play Ellie May Chipley in the revival of '' Showboat'' in 1983 starring

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred, in succession, with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talki ...

. She repeated the role for the Houston Grand Opera's 1989 production and continued with them when the show was moved to the Cairo Opera House in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Continuing her legacy as Ellie, she also sang the part on the 1989 Grammy-nominated recording of the musical with Jerry Hadley,

Frederica von Stade Frederica von Stade (born 1 June 1945) is a semi-retired American classical singer. Best known for her work in opera, she was also a recitalist and concert artist, and she recorded more than a hundred albums and videos. She is especially associa ...

, and

Teresa Stratas Teresa Stratas (born May 26, 1938) is a Canadian operatic soprano and actress of Greeks, Greek descent. She is especially well known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's ''Lulu (opera), Lulu''. She is formally retired. Early life an ...

, conducted by John McGlinn on the

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

EMI label. Her other American stage credits include the title role in '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (Broadway and national tour) and Ado Annie in a national tour of ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'' directed by William Hammerstein. In 1995, she joined the Broadway production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'', where she played the role of

Fantine Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young ''Grisette (person), grisette'' in Paris who is impregnated by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look ...

. Internationally, O'Hara has played the role of Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (Australia). In April 2011, O'Hara played the role of Judy Garland in ''From Gumm to Garland: JUDY, The Musical'' at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, Arizona.

Transition to film and ''Beauty and the Beast''

A longtime fan of

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

, O'Hara auditioned for ''

'' at the age of 35 after reading about the film in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. In Season 2 of '' The Legend of Prince Valiant'' (which starred her ''Beauty and the Beast'' co-star

Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor, director, and musician. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the films ''Ode to Billy Joe (film), Ode to Billy Joe'' (1976), ''One on ...

), O'Hara had a recurring role as Princess Aleta (who was later promoted to queen). Benson's character Prince Valiant fell in love with Aleta at first sight. O'Hara also starred as Venus in the BBC's recorded broadcast of the live presentation of Kurt Weill's "One Touch of Venus" and in tribute to her Belle character from ''Beauty and the Beast'', she portrayed Angela, a character in a fictional soap opera, for Disney's 2007 live-action/traditional 2-D animated film '' Enchanted''. For her work as Belle, O'Hara was honored with a Disney Legend Award on August 19, 2011. O'Hara was replaced by Julie Nathanson as the official voice of Belle in 2011, since her voice has aged over time. Regardless, she has reprised the character on two subsequent occasions: the 2018 film ''

'' and the 2023 short '' Once Upon a Studio''. She continues to paint Belle for Disney Fine Art and also does promotional appearances for Disney. In 2016, O'Hara appeared at numerous special screenings of ''Beauty and the Beast'' in honor of the film's 25th anniversary. She also appeared as a librarian in the TV special '' Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration''.

Personal life

In May 1980, O'Hara married actor Lew Resseguie (May 3, 1932 - June 30, 2019). They met in 1979 while performing in ''Fiorello!'' at Paper Mill Playhouse. They later divorced. O'Hara is married to actor, Michael Piontek. They wed in 1990. She is Catholic.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

Discography

* Jerry Herman: ''Mack and Mabel in Concert (Live at the Theatre Royal)'', conducted by David Firman, First Night Records, 1988 * Jerome Kern: ''Show Boat'', conducted by John McGlinn, EMI, 1988 * ''Loving You: Paige O'Hara Sings Jerry Herman'', conducted by Dennis Buck, Varèse Sarabande, 1995 * Rodgers and Hammerstein: ''South Pacific'', conducted by John Owen Edwards, Jay Records, 1996 * ''Paige O'Hara: Dream With Me'', Intersound, 1998

References

External links

* * *
Paige O'Hara at the Disney Legends Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, Paige 1956 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American women painters 20th-century American women singers 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women painters 21st-century American women singers 21st-century Roman Catholics Actresses from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American musical theatre actresses American people of British descent American people of Dutch descent American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American Roman Catholics American sopranos American stage actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses Audiobook narrators Catholics from Florida Disney Legends Musicians from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Nova High School alumni Walt Disney Records artists