Claim: Evil Queen (Disney) was created by Joe Grant.

The Evil Queen , also known as the Wicked Queen or just the Queen , and sometimes instead identified by her given name as Queen Grimhilde , is the primary antagonist in Disney 's 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and a villain character in the extended Disney 's Snow White franchise . She is based on the Evil Queen character from the European fairy tale `` Snow White '' .   In the film , similar to the Brothers Grimm story , the Evil Queen is cold , cruel , and extremely vain , and obsessively desires to remain the `` fairest in the land '' . She becomes madly envious over the beauty of her stepdaughter , Princess Snow White , as well as the attentions of the Prince from another land ; such love triangle element is one of Disney 's changes to the story . This leads her to plot the death of Snow White and ultimately on the path to her own demise , which in the film is indirectly caused by the Seven Dwarfs . The film 's version of the Queen character uses her dark magic powers to actually transform herself into an old woman instead of just taking a disguise like in the Grimms ' story ; this appearance of hers is commonly referred to as the Wicked Witch or alternatively as the Old Hag or just the Witch . The Queen dies in the film , but lives on in a variety of noncanonical Disney works .   The film 's version of the Queen was created by Walt Disney and Joe Grant , and originally animated by Art Babbit and voiced by Lucille La Verne . Inspiration for her design came from the characters of Queen Hash-a-Motep from She and Princess Kriemhild from Die Nibelungen . The Queen has since been voiced by Eleanor Audley , June Foray , Janet Waldo , Eda Reiss Merin , Louise Chamis and Susanne Blakeslee , and was portrayed live by Anne Francine -LRB- musical -RRB- , Jane Curtin -LRB- 50th anniversary TV special -RRB- , and Olivia Wilde -LRB- Disney Dream Portraits -RRB- , Kathy Najimy -LRB- Descendants -RRB- , and in an alternative version , by Lana Parrilla -LRB- Once Upon a Time -RRB- .   This version of the classic fairy tale character has been very well received by film critics and the public , and is considered one of Disney 's most iconic and menacing villains . Besides in the film , the Evil Queen has made numerous appearances in Disney attractions and productions , including not only these directly related to the tale of Snow White , such as Fantasmic ! , The Kingdom Keepers and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep , sometimes appearing in them alongside Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty . The film 's version of the Queen has also become a popular archetype that influenced a number of artists and non-Disney works .