Paige O'Hara - wikipedia Paige O'Hara Paige O'Hara Donna Paige Helmintoller ( 1956 - 05 - 10 ) May 10, 1956 ( age 61 ) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. Education Nova High School Alma mater Parkway Middle School of the Arts Occupation Actress, singer, painter Years active 1983 -- present Notable work Original voice of Belle in Disney 's Beauty and the Beast ( 1991 ) Spouse ( s ) Michael Piontek Awards Disney Legend ( 2011 ) Website www.paigeohara.net Donna Paige Helmintoller, better known as Paige O'Hara ( born May 10, 1956 ), is an American actress, singer and painter. O'Hara began her career as a Broadway actress in 1983 when she portrayed Ellie May Chipley in the musical Showboat. 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 two direct - to - video follow - ups, Beauty and the Beast : The Enchanted Christmas and Belle 's Magical World. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Broadway and stage 2.2 Transition to film and Beauty and the Beast 3 References 4 External links Early life O'Hara was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and attended Nova High School, in Davie, Florida, and Parkway Middle School of The Arts, also in Florida. She performed in shows with the Fort Lauderdale Children 's Theatre. O'Hara began acting at the age of four, attending acting classes in her home state of Florida. 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 as one of her idols. Career Broadway and stage O'Hara made her first appearance on the Broadway stage as 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. 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, O'Hara auditioned for Beauty and the Beast at the age of 30 after reading about the film in The New York Times. 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 movie Enchanted. For her work as Belle, O'Hara was honored with a Disney Legend Award on August 19, 2011. As of 2011, O'Hara was replaced by Julie Nathanson as the voice of Belle due to her voice changing significantly over the course of twenty years. Despite this, she still paints Belle for Disney Fine Art and also continues to do 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. In July 2017, it was announced that O'Hara would be reprising the role of Belle in the 2018 film Ralph Breaks the Internet : Wreck - It Ralph 2. References Jump up ^ `` Paige O'Hara Pics ''. All Star Pics. Lucy Media. Retrieved 15 January 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Interview With Paige O'Hara, The Voice Of Belle In `` Beauty and the Beast '' ``. Disney Dreaming. Unrivaled Media Group, LLC. October 5, 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2012. ^ Jump up to : Benedictus, Leo ( April 30, 2012 ). `` How we made : Don Hahn and Paige O'Hara on Beauty and the Beast ''. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 16 November 2012. Jump up ^ Huver, Scott ( May 30, 2012 ). `` '' Beauty and the Beast 3D '' Gives Original Star Paige O'Hara a Whole New Perspective ``. NBC New York. NBCUniversal, Inc. Retrieved 16 November 2012. Jump up ^ Photo Flash : Lea Salonga, Anika Noni Rose, Paige O'Hara et al. Honored at D23 Expo ^ Jump up to : `` Belle still tolls for actress O'Hara ''. Jump up ^ 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 31 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` New Fantasyland Grand Opening Celebration at Walt Disney World Resort ''. Disney Parks Blog. July 30, 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013. Jump up ^ Mallenbaum, Carly ( May 10, 2016 ). `` 8 things you never knew about ' Beauty and the Beast ' ''. USA Today. Retrieved 19 September 2016. Jump up ^ 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. Jump up ^ Holmes, Adam ( July 14, 2017 ). `` Wreck - It Ralph 2 Is Bringing The Original Disney Princesses Back ''. CinemaBlend. Retrieved July 15, 2017. External links Paige O'Hara at the Internet Broadway Database Paige O'Hara on IMDb Paige O'Hara at the Disney Legends Website Paige O'Hara official website Q&A With Paige O'Hara VIAF : 305232985 ISNI : 0000 0000 8330 6275 GND : 143134809 MusicBrainz : ddea7bbb - afd6 - 404a - 873f - eac152833cbf Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paige_O%27Hara&oldid=799442732 '' Categories : 1956 births 20th - century American painters 20th - century women artists 21st - century American painters 21st - century women artists Actresses from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American musical theatre actresses American people of Irish descent American stage actresses American video game actresses American voice actresses American women painters Disney people Living people Musicians from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Nova High School alumni Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Cebuano Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 7 September 2017, at 19 : 28. 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Question: who plays the voice of belle in beauty and the beast
Answer: Paige O'Hara