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Paige O'Hara

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Paige O'Hara
O'Hara at Animate Miami in 2024
O'Hara at Animate Miami in 2024
Born Donna Paige Helmintoller[1]
May 10, 1956
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Occupations Actress
singer
painter
Years active 1975–present
Spouses Lew Resseguie
(m. 1980, divorced)
Michael Piontek
(m. 1990)
Awards Disney Legend (2011)
Website www.paigeohara.net

Paige O'Hara (born Donna Paige Helmintoller; May 10, 1956)[2] 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. In 1991, she made her motion picture debut in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, 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 (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.[3] It was not until she was 12 years old that she developed an interest in singing and enrolled in a performing arts high school.[3] O'Hara cites American actress and singer Judy Garland as one of her idols.[4]

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 would later play Ellie May Chipley in the revival of Showboat in 1983 starring Donald O'Connor. 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. 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, and Teresa Stratas, conducted by John McGlinn on the Angel 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! directed by William Hammerstein. In 1995, she joined the Broadway production of Les Misérables, where she played the role of Fantine.

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,[4] O'Hara auditioned for Beauty and the Beast at the age of 35[5] after reading about the film in The New York Times.[3]

In Season 2 of The Legend of Prince Valiant (which starred her Beauty and the Beast co-star Robby Benson), 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.[6]

O'Hara was replaced by Julie Nathanson as the official voice of Belle in 2011, since her voice has aged over time.[7] Regardless, she has reprised the character on two subsequent occasions: the 2018 film Ralph Breaks the Internet[8] and the 2023 short Once Upon a Studio.[9] She continues to paint Belle for Disney Fine Art and also does promotional appearances for Disney.[10] In 2016, O'Hara appeared at numerous special screenings of Beauty and the Beast in honor of the film's 25th anniversary.[11][12] She also appeared as a librarian in the TV special Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration.[13]

Personal life

In May 1980, in Manhattan, O'Hara married actor Lewis Denton "Lew" Resseguie (May 3, 1932 - June 30, 2019).[14][15] They met in 1979 while performing in Fiorello! at Paper Mill Playhouse.[14][16] They later divorced.

O'Hara married actor, Michael Piontek on 25 August 1990.[17]

She is Catholic.[18][19]

She is of mixed Irish, British, Dutch, and German descent.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Beauty and the Beast Belle (voice) Nominated — Grammy Award for Album of the Year
1997 Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
1998 Belle's Magical World Nominated — Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production
1999 Belle's Tales of Friendship
2001 Legend of the Candy Cane Jane Aubrey (voice)
Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse Belle (voice) Direct-to-video
2004 Sing Along Songs: Disney Princess: Once Upon a Dream
2005 Disney Princess Party: Volume Two
2007 Enchanted Angela
2016 Always Belle Herself Documentary
2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet Belle (voice)
2023 Once Upon a Studio Short film[9]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1993 The Legend of Prince Valiant Princess Aleta / Queen Aleta (voices) 9 episodes
1995 The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat Girls (voice) Episode: "Felix in Nightdrop Land/Shocking Story", uncredited
1996 Adventures from the Book of Virtues The Princess / June Washington (voice) Episode: "Honesty"
2002 Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe in Santa Nicole (voice) Television film
2022 Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration Bookseller TV special

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Disney's Beauty and the Beast Magical Ballroom Belle (voice)
2005 Kingdom Hearts II English version
2007 Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+
Disney Princess: Magical Jewels
Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey

Theatre

Year Title Role Notes
1975 The Gift of the Magi Della [20]
1979 Fiorello! Marie [21]
1980 Naughty Marietta Lizette [22]
1980 Paint Your Wagon Jennifer Rumson [22]
1983 Showboat Ellie May Chipley
1984 The Unsinkable Molly Brown Molly Brown [23]
1985 Oh, Boy! Jacky [24]
1985 The Mystery of Edwin Drood Alice Nutting / Edwin Drood
1986 Oklahoma! Ado Annie
1987 Of Thee I Sing Diana Deveraux
1988 Mack and Mabel performer [25]
1989 Sitting Pretty performer [26]
1990 Anything Goes Reno Sweeney [27]
1990 The Cat and the Fiddle Angie Sheridan [28]
1991 Evita Eva Perón [22]
1992 Tiger Lady Winnie Ruth Judd [29]
1995 Les Misérables Fantine [30]
1995 South Pacific Nellie Forbush [31]
1996 Peter Pan Peter Pan [32][33]
1996 Evita Eva Perón [34]
2002 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Narrator [35]
2014 Menopause The Musical performer [36]

Discography

References

  1. Back to citation Hischak, Thomas S. (2011). Disney Voice Actors: A Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-7864-8694-6.
  2. Back to citation Keck, William (September 12, 2016). "How Classic Disney Characters Led Paige O'Hara to Discover Her Own Disney Destiny". D23. Retrieved January 27, 2025; Hiles, Catherine (May 10, 2022). "5 Facts About Disney Legend Paige O'Hara". WDW Magazine. Retrieved June 11, 2024; "May celebrity birthdays: Adele, Cher, Billy Joel, Lenny Kravitz and more stars celebrating". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix. March 13, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
  3. Back to citation occurrence 3.0 Back to citation occurrence 3.1 Back to citation occurrence 3.2 "Interview With Paige O'Hara, The Voice Of Belle In "Beauty and the Beast"". Disney Dreaming. October 5, 2010. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Benedictus, Leo (April 30, 2012). "How we made: Don Hahn and Paige O'Hara on Beauty and the Beast". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  5. Back to citation Huver, Scott (May 30, 2012). ""Beauty and the Beast 3D" Gives Original Star Paige O'Hara a Whole New Perspective". WNBC News. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
  6. Back to citation "Photo Flash: Lea Salonga, Anika Noni Rose, Paige O'Hara et al. Honored at D23 Expo". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  7. Back to citation Weatherford, Mike (January 15, 2012). "Belle still tolls for actress O'Hara". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  8. Back to citation Holmes, Adam (July 14, 2017). "Wreck-It Ralph 2 Is Bringing The Original Disney Princesses Back". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  9. Back to citation occurrence 9.0 Back to citation occurrence 9.1 @Attractions (September 10, 2023). "We just saw a new animated short at #DestinationD23 called Once Upon a Studio featuring tons of characters from past Disney Animated films. It was so good, the creators got a one minute standing ovation when it ended" (Tweet). Retrieved September 15, 2023 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  10. Back to citation Weatherford, Mike (January 15, 2012). "Belle still tolls for actress O'Hara". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 2, 2025; Brigante, Ricky (July 30, 2013). "Full 2013 D23 Expo schedule revealed with Walt Disney Studios celebs, Imagineering & Parks panels, Marvel meet-and-greets". Inside the Magic. Retrieved July 31, 2013; "New Fantasyland Grand Opening Celebration at Walt Disney World Resort". Disney Parks Blog. July 30, 2013. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  11. Back to citation Mallenbaum, Carly (May 10, 2016). "8 things you never knew about 'Beauty and the Beast'". USA Today. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  12. Back to citation McGovern, Joe (August 16, 2016). "Beauty and the Beast getting special 25th anniversary screening ahead of New York Film Festival". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  13. Back to citation Johnson, Zach (December 12, 2022). "First Look: See Paige O'Hara, Richard White, and Alan Menken's Cameos in 'Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration'". D23. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  14. Back to citation occurrence 14.0 Back to citation occurrence 14.1 Apone, Carl (August 7, 1980). "Paige O'Hara By Any Other Name..." The Pittsburgh Press. p. D7. Retrieved 2 July 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Back to citation "Lew Resseguie – Broadway Cast & Staff". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  16. Back to citation "Fiorello! (Paper Mill Playhouse Production, 1979)". Ovrtur. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  17. Back to citation "Paige O'Hara, voice of 'Belle,' recalls magic of 'Beauty and the Beast'". Catholic Philly. September 20, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2025; Cling, Carol (April 21, 2013). "More than 20 years after 'Beauty and the Beast,' Paige O'Hara still remembered as voice of Disney princess". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 22, 2019; Cling, Carol (March 19, 2016). "Voice of Disney's Belle didn't expect to fall in love with Las Vegas". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 22, 2019; "Paige O'Hara – Broadway Cast & Staff". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  18. Back to citation "Paige O'Hara, voice of 'Belle,' recalls magic of 'Beauty and the Beast'". Catholic Philly. September 20, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  19. Back to citation Paige O'Hara is feeling blessed. September 4, 2016 · Public My true heroine, Mother Teresa is now in sainthood. St Teresa who was an angel on earth, is now a saint in heaven. What a glorious celebration". Facebook.
  20. Back to citation Barnes, Clive (December 2, 1975). "Stage: 'Gift of the Magi' Is in Season". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  21. Back to citation Catinella, Joseph (November 19, 1979). "'Fiorello!' Shines at Paper Mill". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  22. Back to citation occurrence 22.0 Back to citation occurrence 22.1 Back to citation occurrence 22.2 "Artist Database: Paige O'Hara". Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  23. Back to citation Klein, Alvin (May 20, 1984). "THEATER IN REVIEW; FINE LEADING MAN IN 'MOLLY BROWN'". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  24. Back to citation Rockwell, John (January 26, 1985). "STAGE: KERN'S 'OH, BOY!' CELEBRATES A CENTENNIAL". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  25. Back to citation Ruhlmann, William (1988). Mack & Mabel: in Concert (1988 London Cast Recording). First Night Records. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  26. Back to citation Holden, Stephen (April 17, 1989). "Reviews/Music; A Jerome Kern Musical, With Bons Mots Included". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  27. Back to citation Klein, Alvin (April 8, 1990). "THEATER; 'Anything Goes,' in Elmsford". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  28. Back to citation Holland, Bernard (April 20, 1990). "Reviews/Music; The Glory of Wit and a Tune: A Reminder". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  29. Back to citation Everett, Todd (July 6, 1992). "Tiger Lady". Variety. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  30. Back to citation "Paige O'Hara Answers Members Questions". Playbill. January 22, 1996.
  31. Back to citation Musarra, Russ (August 3, 1995). "Goulet still working Magic". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  32. Back to citation Hefley, Lynne (July 1, 1996). "'Music Tells a Tale' a Genial Family Treat". Los Angeles Times.
  33. Back to citation Reif, Alex (May 16, 2020). "10 Things We Learned from Paige O'Hara During WDFM's Happily Ever After Hours". Laughing Place. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  34. Back to citation "Past Seasons". Cherry County Playhouse. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  35. Back to citation "Joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat / lyrics by Tim Rice; music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; [presented by] the American Musical Theatre of San Jose; director, Marc Jacobs". ArchiveGrid. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  36. Back to citation Burke, Anne (March 23, 2014). "Menopause the Musical". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  37. Back to citation "Jerry Herman – Mack & Mabel In Concert (1988, Gatefold, Vinyl)". Discogs. 1988. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  38. Back to citation "Paige O'Hara - Loving You - Paige O'Hara Sings Jerry Herman". Discogs. 1995. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  39. Back to citation "South Pacific". Jay Records. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  40. Back to citation "Paige O'Hara – Dream With Me (1998, CD)". Discogs. 1998. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
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