Paige O'Hara (born Donna Paige Helmintoller; May 10, 1956) 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. 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 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, O'Hara auditioned for Beauty and the Beast at the age of 33 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 film Enchanted.
For her work as Belle, O'Hara was honored with a Disney Legend Award on August 19, 2011.
She is also paints Belle for Disney Fine Art and also does 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. She also appeared as a librarian in the TV special Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration.
Personal life In May 1980, in Manhattan, O'Hara married actor Lewis Denton "Lew" Resseguie (May 3, 1932 - June 30, 2019). They met in 1979 while performing in Fiorello! at Paper Mill Playhouse. They later divorced.
O'Hara married actor, Michael Piontek on 25 August 1990.
She is Catholic.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.
She is of mixed Irish, British, Dutch, and German descent.
Filmography
Film {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1991 || Beauty and the Beast||rowspan="4"| 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|| | |- | rowspan ="2"| 2001 || Legend of the Candy Cane || Jane Aubrey (voice) || |- | Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse || rowspan="3"| Belle (voice) || rowspan= "3"| Direct-to-video |- | 2004 || Sing Along Songs: Disney Princess: Once Upon a Dream |- | 2005 || Disney Princess Party|Disney Princess Party: Volume Two|- | 2007 || Enchanted || Angela ||
| 2016 || Always Belle || Herself || Documentary |- | 2018 || Ralph Breaks the Internet || rowspan="3"| Belle (voice) || |- | 2023 || Once Upon a Studio || Short film
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 1979 Fiorello! Marie 1980 Naughty Marietta Lizette 1980 Paint Your Wagon Jennifer Rumson 1983 Showboat Ellie May Chipley 1984 The Unsinkable Molly Brown Molly Brown 1985 Oh, Boy! Jacky 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 1989 Sitting Pretty performer 1990 Anything Goes Reno Sweeney 1990 The Cat and the Fiddle Angie Sheridan 1991 Evita Eva Perón 1992 Tiger Lady Winnie Ruth Judd 1995 Les Misérables Fantine "Paige O'Hara Answers Members Questions". Playbill. January 22, 1996. 1995 South Pacific Nellie Forbush 1996 Peter Pan Peter Pan 1996 Evita Eva Perón 2002 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Narrator 2014 Menopause The Musical performer
Discography Jerry Herman: Mack and Mabel in Concert (Live at the Theatre Royal), conducted by David Firman, First Night Records, 1988 Jerome Kern: Show Boat, conducted by John McGlinn, EMI, 1988 Loving You: Paige O'Hara Sings Jerry Herman, conducted by Dennis Buck, Varèse Sarabande, 1995 Rodgers and Hammerstein: South Pacific, conducted by John Owen Edwards, Jay Records, 1996 Paige O'Hara: Dream With Me'', Intersound, 1998
References
External links
Paige O'Hara at the Disney Legends Website Q&A With Paige O'Hara