Paige O'Hara - wikipedia Paige O'Hara Paige O'Hara O'Hara at the 2018 Phoenix Comic Fest Donna Paige Helmintoller ( 1956 - 05 - 10 ) May 10, 1956 ( age 62 ) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. Education Nova High School Alma mater Parkway Middle School of the Arts Occupation Actress, voice actress, singer, painter Years active 1983 -- present Notable work Voice of Belle in Disney 's Beauty and the Beast ( 1991 -- 2011, 2018 ) Spouse ( s ) Michael Piontek ( m. 1995 ) 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, voice 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 Personal life 4 Filmography 4.1 Film 4.2 Television 4.3 Video games 4.4 Theater 5 References 6 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. 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, O'Hara auditioned for Beauty and the Beast at the age of 30 after reading about the film in The New York Times. 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 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. Personal life O'Hara is married to actor Michael Piontek. The couple first met in 1989 ; after six years of dating, they married in 1995. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1991 Beauty and the Beast Belle Voice role Beauty and the Beast : The Enchanted Christmas 1998 Belle 's Magical World 1999 Belle 's Tale 's of Friendship Chapters of Enchantment Beauty & the World of Music Legend of the Candy Cane Jane Aubrey Mickey 's Magical Christmas : Snowed in at the House of Mouse Belle 2002 Rapsittie Street Kids : Believe in Santa Nicole Sing Along Songs : Disney Princess : Once Upon a Dream Belle 2005 Disney Princess Party : Volume Two 2007 Enchanted Angela 2018 Ralph Breaks the Internet Belle Voice role Television Year Title Role Notes The Legend of Prince Valiant Princess Aleta / Queen Aleta Voice role 1995 The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat Girls Voice role, uncredited Adventures from the Book of Virtues The Princess / June Washington Voice role Video games Year Title Role Notes 2000 Disney 's Beauty and the Beast Magical Ballroom Belle Voice role 2005 Kingdom Hearts II Voice role, English version 2007 Kingdom Hearts II : Final Mix+ Disney Princess : Magical Jewels Voice role Disney Princess : Enchanted Journey Theater Year Title Role Notes Showboat Ellie May Chipley 1985 The Mystery of Edwin Drood Miss Florence Gil 1986 Oklahoma ! Ado Annie 1995 Les Misérables Fantine 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. Jump up ^ http://catholicphilly.com/2016/09/culture/paige-ohara-voice-of-belle-recalls-magic-of-beauty-and-the-beast/ Jump up ^ https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/arts-culture/more-than-20-years-after-beauty-and-the-beast-paige-ohara-still-remembered-as-voice-of-disney-princess/amp/ Jump up ^ https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/arts-culture/voice-of-disneys-belle-didnt-expect-to-fall-in-love-with-las-vegas/amp/ Jump up ^ Paige O'Hara Answers Members Questions Playbill, January 22, 1996 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paige O'Hara. 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 WorldCat Identities GND : 143134809 ISNI : 0000 0000 8330 6275 MusicBrainz : ddea7bbb - afd6 - 404a - 873f - eac152833cbf VIAF : 305232985 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paige_O%27Hara&oldid=860011899 '' Categories : 1956 births 20th - century American painters 20th - century American women artists 21st - century American painters 21st - century American 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 Walt Disney Animation Studios people Living people Musicians from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Nova High School alumni Hidden categories : Infobox person using alma mater Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Cebuano Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Svenska 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 17 September 2018, at 19 : 15 ( UTC ). 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Question: who was the voice of belle in the original beauty and the beast
Answer: Donna Paige Helmintoller