Meet The Girl Who Inspired The Look Of Disney’s Alice In Wonderland

Every girl wants to be in a Disney movie, but this real little girl basically was. It turns out that the look of little Alice in Disney's Alice in Wonderland was inspired by a 10-year-old English girl named Kathryn Beaumont. Walt Disney himself handpicked the young actress after seeing her in the 1948 film On An Island With You. As Hello Giggles points out, new pictures show that the adorable blonde's features perfectly match that of the character, who she also voiced. Beaumont would also lend her voice to that of Peter Pan's Wendy, too.

But her visage isn't the only thing memorialized on film. Turns out that Beaumont also helped the animators figure out how to draw Alice's every move, including some of the character's stunts. That scene of Alice falling down the rabbit hole was actually inspired by her jumping off a foot stool.

Like Alice herself, Beaumont couldn't stay in Wonderland forever. She worked as an elementary school teacher for 30 years, but remained as the voice for Alice and Wendy until 1995. In 1998, she was named a “Disney Legend” by the Walt Disney Company. Watch the video below to hear Beaumont explain how Disney animators were able to bring Alice to life.

Opener Photo: Moviestore Collection/Rex/REX USA