Snow White is a fictional character and a main character from Disney Animation's first feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Voiced by Adriana Caselotti, the character is derived from the 1812 fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.
Snow White is the first Disney Princess and the first fictional female character with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Given the title the "Fairest One of All", she has continued to inspire similar traits in future Disney heroines, such as singing and communicating with animals.
After Caselotti, she has also been voiced by Thelma Boardman, Jane Powell, Ilene Woods, Dorothy Warenskjold, June Foray, Mary Kay Bergman, Carolyn Gardner, Melissa Disney, Katie Von Til, and Pamela Ribon, and portrayed live by Mary Jo Salerno (musical) and Stephanie Bennett (Descendants). Rachel Zegler portrays a live-action version of the character in the live-action adaptation of the original 1937 film.
Appearances In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Snow White first appears in the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). In "another land, far away," "many, many years ago," about the time of fairy tales of castles, knights, fair maidens, romance, magic and witches," a mysterious and icily beautiful woman with magical powers (a 1938 promotional brochure suggests that she is able to work her witchcraft having sold "herself body and soul to the bad spirits" of Germany's Harz mountains) has gained her royal position by marrying the widowed King, giving her rule over his kingdom before he died. "From that time on the cruel Queen ruled all alone, her every word was law, and all trembled in mortal fear of her anger." The vain Queen owned a magical mirror with which she could look upon whatever she wished. The Magic Mirror shows a haunted, smokey face of her familiar demon which replies to the Queen's requests. She regularly asks the mirror who is the fairest in the realm ("Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" which is often misquoted as "Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all"), and the mirror would always reply that she is. The Queen has magical power only over her own domain, which is the castle.
In the film, Snow White is initially depicted as living under her wicked, vain stepmother, the Evil Queen, who forces Snow White to work as a scullery maid, fearing that one day Snow White's beauty might become greater than her own. After many years, the Queen's Magic Mirror confirms Snow White as being the "fairest of them all", which causes the Queen to cast Snow White out and send a huntsman to kill her. But when he is unable to bring himself to do so, the huntsman helps Snow White escape into the forest. Snow White stumbles upon the home of the Seven Dwarfs Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy and Dopey, who happily aid her.
The Queen discovers that Snow White has survived, so she uses magic to disguise herself as an old hag and creates a magic poisoned apple that will put anyone who eats it into a “Sleeping Death" from which only the kiss of true love will revive. When the dwarfs are away, the disguised Queen arrives at the dwarfs’ cottage and gives Snow White the cursed apple, stating the apple will grant her a wish if she bites into it. Snow White takes the apple, wishes for a reunion with the Prince, and takes a bite of the apple, which puts her in a deep sleep. Upon discovering what happened, the dwarfs track down the Queen; a short chase ensues, and the Queen is killed. Believing Snow White to be dead, too, the dwarfs build a glass and gold casket in the forest glen, where she sleeps for a year. The Prince comes across Snow White. Saddened by her apparent death, he kisses her, causing her to awaken. As the Seven Dwarfs dance with joy, Snow White and the Prince go off to live together happily ever after.
Other appearances
Actress and dancer JoAnn Dean Killingsworth became the first person to portray Snow White at Disneyland in 1955. She was hired to play Snow White for Disneyland's opening on July 17, 1955. Killingsworth's Snow White was the only Disney Princess to have own float during Disneyland's first parade down Main Street, U.S.A. on opening day. Since Killingsworth's 1955 debut as Snow White, more than 100 actresses have played the character at Disneyland.
Snow White's Scary Adventures is a dark ride dedicated to the princess and her story at the Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris theme parks. Located in Fantasyland, it is one of the few remaining attractions operational on Disneyland's opening day in 1955. The ride was closed in Disney World in May 2012 as part of the New Fantasyland expansion.
She also makes appearances at Cinderella's Royal Table in Magic Kingdom and at the Akershus Restaurant and Germany Pavilion in Epcot. In California, Snow White can be found at the Princess Royal Hall in Fantasyland at Disneyland Park, on Main Street U.S.A., or by the Wishing Well next to the Sleeping Beauty Castle. She was also one of the meetable characters at Ariel's Grotto in California Adventure until it closed in January 2018. In Disneyland Paris, Snow White can often be at the Princess Pavilion in Fantasyland or at Auberge de Cendrillon in Disneyland Park. In Hong Kong, she is often up by the Wishing Well. In Tokyo, Snow White appears often in Fantasyland or World Bazaar. On Disney Cruise Line, Snow White sometimes appears, depending on a sailing.
Snow White is an official member of the Disney Princess line, a prominent franchise directed at young girls. The franchise covers a wide variety of merchandise, including but not limited to magazines, music albums, toys, clothes, and stationery.
Aside from appearing in video games related to the Disney Princess franchise media as well as appearances on the television series House of Mouse, Snow White also appears in the popular Kingdom Hearts series as one of the Princesses of Heart. She first appears in Kingdom Hearts (2002) as a Princess of Heart captured by Maleficent. She reprises her role from the film in the video game Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Snow White also appears in the video game Disney Magical World which includes multiple furniture and costume items related to the character, and is also a playable character in Disney Magic Kingdoms.
Mary Jo Salerno originated the role of Snow White in the 1970s musical adaptation. Video recordings were shown on television in early 1980s.
In a season six episode of the sitcom series Full House known as The House Meets The Mouse Parts 1 & 2, Snow White appeared in Part 2. Snow White also had cameos in the films Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) where she appears in the Toontown scene and at the end of the film with the toons and The Lion King 1½ (2004) where she, Seven Dwarfs, and other Disney characters came to rewatch the film with Timon and Pumbaa. In 2014, Snow White made a guest appearance on Sofia the First, in "The Enchanted Feast". She tells Sofia about how her stepmother tricked her by assuming a disguise, helping Sofia to determine that a visiting sorceress is actually an old foe, Miss Nettle. Snow White, alongside other Disney Princesses, appeared in the film Ralph Breaks the Internet.Holmes, Adam (2017). "Wreck-It Ralph 2 Is Bringing The Original Disney Princesses Back" . Retrieved 2018-05-23. She, along with the other Princesses, are portrayed in what The Washington Post described as a parody of the "Disney Princess Industrial Complex", and are later seen wearing modern outfits inspired by their respective backstories.
In the ABC television series Once Upon a Time, an alternative version of Snow White is the daughter of King Leopold and Queen Eva and later stepdaughter of the Evil Queen (Regina Mills). She is the true love of Prince Charming, mother of Emma Swan and Prince Neal, and grandmother of Emma's son Henry. In Storybrooke, she appears as Mary Margaret Blanchard, Henry Mills' teacher at Storybrooke Elementary School.
In the Disney Channel Original Movie Descendants, Snow White appears as a news reporter who reports activities in Auradon.
Snow White appears as one of the main characters in Lego's animated special Lego Disney Princess: The Castle Quest, released on Disney+ on August 18, 2023. She also appears in the 2025 sequel, Lego Disney Princess: Villains Unite.
Snow White appears in the short film Once Upon a Studio. She sings with Mulan and Asha near the end of "When You Wish Upon a Star" and sits next to the Prince in the group photo.
She is played by Rachel Zegler in Disney's live-action adaptation of the animated film. While the film received mixed reviews, most critics considered Zegler's performance as "one huge highlight" of the film. In this version of the film, unlike most of her fairy tale versions, Snow White is revealed to be named for a snowstorm on the day of her birth by her parents to remind her of her resilience.
Books
The Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen
Snow White is present in the first book of the Disney Villains series by Serena Valentino. In Fairest of All, Snow White plays a minor role, as the story is more focused on her stepmother. In the story, Snow and the Queen have a very good relationship before the Odd Sisters enchant the Magic Mirror to cause the Queen's jealousy and hatred of Snow. At the end of the novel Snow obtains the mirror and her stepmother becomes the spirit inside.
Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy
Snow White reappears as an older Queen in the fourth book of the Villains series. In the story, she is a queen, is still happily married to her Prince whom she has had children with. She also meets Circe for the first time and helps her uncover secrets about her past. It is revealed as well that Maleficent was assigned Snow White as a charge during her wish granting fairy test, and in order to help Snow White destroyed the mirror that contained Grimhilde's father's wicked spirit to free Grimhilde from her misery and allow her to return to the loving stepmother Snow White knew.
Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch
Queen Snow White appears alongside Circe. She alongside Circe follows Mother Gothel's journey in the storybook kept by the Odd Sisters.
The Odd Sisters: A Tale of the Three Witches
Snow White features prominently in the sixth book in the Villains series. Alongside Circe, the two of them set out to discover the truth about the Odd Sisters' origins as well as set to rights the trouble and chaos they caused. Along the way they encounter several previous characters in the novels. It isn't until they go to the Dead Woods and encounter Primrose and Hazel that they discover the truth of the Odd Sisters, that they were split into three individual witches by Manea's mother, Nestis, a powerful witch. The babies were taken by Jacob, Manea's former lover and now undead servant, to be given to the White family, where they were raised. A one on one encounter with the Odd Sisters results in the pulling of Grimhilde's spirit from the mirror, where she shatters and dies in front of Snow White. A shaken Snow White then watches as Circe kills herself in front of the Odd Sisters, dying in Snow White's arms despite her pleas.
Mirror Mirror: A Twisted Tale
In the fifth novel of the series, the question is asked What if the Evil Queen poisoned the Prince? In this retelling, Snow White becomes a warrior princess determined to overthrow her tyrannical stepmother, who poisons Prince Charming to lure her out of hiding.
Characteristics