Every Disney fan knows the famous female characters in the Disney lexicon – Cinderella, Princess Aurora, Tinker Bell, Princess Ariel, Moana, Princess Tiana, and Mirabel, to name a few. But do you know the famous real-world women behind the colorful scenes and immersive attractions? From animators to imagineers to business executives, the women of the Walt Disney Company have kept the world going from the very beginning. On this International Women’s Day, let’s take a look at some of the influential females who have brought Disney magic to life.
Clockwise from top left: Alice Estes Davis, Mary Blair with Walt Disney, Leota Toombs, Kim Irvine, Jennifer Lee, Ruth Shellhorn, and Harriett Burns
Ruth Shellhorn – 1955’s Woman of the Year was an influential landscape designer in the Southern California who had major contributions to the planning of Disneyland. Ruth Shellhorn joined an all-male team who desperately needed her expertise to effectively move people around the park. To do this, Ruth designed the “castle hub” at Disneyland, with “spokes,” or paths, that lead off into the other lands around the park. Ruth worked with the landscaping designers and imagineers to implement the pathways that would easily move people around the lands and lead them back to the hub and park icon of Sleeping Beauty Castle. The hub-and-spoke design is famous throughout Disney parks and replicated at other theme parks around the world, including Universal’s newest park, EPIC Universe.
Ruth designed the transitions into the various lands as well, so that as you walk from the hub to Adventureland you feel a natural transition of space and recognize the theme in the new area without a jarring visual transition. This is accomplished by using flora that blends into the next theme, and a bit of forced perspective, so it looks seamless to guests. In Landscape and Architecture Magazine, Shellhorn is quoted as saying,
“It seems like a dream, a dream in which everyone operated to the utmost to build the park for family entertainment, which has been in Walt Disney’s mind for 20 years.”
And on the topic of doing the impossible:
“…but it was Disneyland, a sort of Fairyland, and Walt’s belief that the impossible was a simple order of the day so instilled this spirit in everyone that they never stopped to think that it couldn’t be done – they just did it and with amazing speed.”
Take a short walk around the Partners Statue at Disneyland, in the hub designed by Ruth Shellhorn:
Harriett Burns – The first female Imagineer back when the company was known as WED Inc. (Walter Elias Disney), Harriett interviewed for the Animation Department when they “weren’t hiring women” for film animation. Instead, her first job with the company was in set design, and she was responsible for the original iconic set of the Mickey Mouse Club. Harriet also worked on many of the models and small-scale sets for the design of Disneyland and was instrumental in designing and feathering the bird animatronics for Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room.
Harriett Burns also created the models for the animatronics in Pirates of the Caribbean and worked on the intricate details of these characters. Ever notice the pirate with the hairy leg hanging off the bridge? She more than likely attached each of those leg hairs to his calf, and it is said that she modeled that animatronic after the family milk man. The more you know!
Leota Toombs – Perhaps the most well-known of the original leading ladies, Leota Toombs joined the “Ink and Paint” Department of WED in 1940. Even though the Animation Dept. was primarily full of men, the Ink and Paint Division was almost entirely composed of women, affectionately known as “the color girls.” The color girls’ job was to transfer the animators’ drawings to sheets of transparent celluloid and use pen and ink to outline the characters, literally “putting down color” for the final product. Eventually, Leota made her way onto the Imagineering team, contributing to the audio animatronics for such attractions as it’s a small world, Pirates of the Caribbean, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, and Country Bear Jamboree.
Leota Toombs is probably most recognized for lending her face and voice to Madame Leota, the floating head of the fortune telling gypsy from the seance scene in the attic of the Haunted Mansion. Madame Leota recites a series of incantations recorded by Leota Toombs, such as “Serpents and spiders, tail of a rat; send in the spirits, wherever they’re at!” As you exit the ride, she also encourages you to “hurry baaaack” to visit the 999 happy haunts. Hear her conjure ghouls in the clip below:
Mary Blair – Some of the most recognizable artwork in Disney animation as well as the Disney Parks is credited to Mary Blair. Mary joined Walt’s team in 1943 and was well known for her ability to put down highly contrasting, vibrant colors that defined the classic animation style of the Walt Disney company. Her credits and concept art design include Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), and Peter Pan (1953). If you are a fan of the Disney parks, you’ll find Mary Blair’s art and influence throughout – she was the lead designer for it’s a small world, as well as Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros at EPCOT. One of my favorite examples of her art is The Grand Canyon Concourse Mural at the Contemporary Resort, which can easily be viewed from the Monorail.
Alice Estes Davis – Wife of Marc Davis, one of the original Nine Old Men of Walt Disney Imagineering, Alice originally wanted to be an animator but was told that was a job “for men.” She instead began work at Beverly Vogue & Lingerie House, where she became lead designer. Shortly thereafter, Walt Disney was looking for a designer for an upcoming project called Sleeping Beauty, in order to outfit a live action model used to help mimic natural movement in animation. After a fateful meeting with Disney discussing (of all things) elastic material, Walt hired Alice to outfit over 150 dolls in it’s a small world, which would debut at the 1964-65 World’s Fair. (In this project she got to work with “her hero” Mary Blair.) She also led the costuming for the animatronics in Pirates of the Caribbean, creating nearly 50 pirate outfits the ride — which put her in the same room as Harriett Burns, creating an attraction (and future movie franchise) we all still know and love today.
Kim Irvine – The daughter of Leota Toombs has continued to keep the magic alive at Disneyland. Kim began her career at the Imagineering Model Shop in 1970 where she attached feathers to birds in the Disney World version of The Enchanted Tiki Room – while her mom still worked for the company! Later, Kim Irvine served as the Art Director for Disneyland, and later held the position of Executive Creative Director of Walt Disney Imagineering until her retirement in 2025. Most notably, Kim led the team responsible for the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge expansion, envisioned the repainting of Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland with deeper pinks, and lent her face and voice to Madame Leota for the Nightmare Before Christmas Holiday Overlay of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland – a full-circle moment continuing her mother’s legacy.
Jennifer Lee – After a friend called her for a little help on a project called Wreck-it-Ralph, Jennifer was asked to be part of an upcoming project about two sisters and a snowman, called Frozen. While she first joined the team as a screenwriter, she quickly became co-director, making her the first female to direct a full-length feature film for the Walt Disney Company. Frozen went on to earn $1.29 billion worldwide and was followed up by Frozen 2 which also cleared the $1.49 billion mark. (And yes, that makes her the first female director to surpass the $1B mark for a full-length animated film.)
Beyond these accomplishments, Jennifer Lee was the first female Chief Creative Officer for the Disney Company, serving in that role from 2018 – 2024, and has creative leadership credits on other smash hits such as Big Hero 6, Moana (and Moana 2), Zootopia, and Raya and the Last Dragon. Jennifer Lee stepped down from the CCO position in 2024 in order to focus full-time on movie making, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
From the moment Walt Disney broke ground at Disneyland to the planning design of new park expansions, women have been an instrumental force in making magic at the Disney Company since the 1940s. Whether it’s designing costumes, building audio animatronics, or creating storyboard for the next record-breaking movie franchise, the passionate women behind these scenes and stories continue to bring our imaginations to life.
Let’s plan your next trip to the Disney parks to see this living history in person! With discounts galore (including the month of May!), and FREE dining for kids all year, now is the perfect time to visit the parks. Let’s map out your next Magical Quest today!
References
International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1946) – Lantern – Color Girls
McCormack, Molly (aka Mammoth Club). (2023, March 13) Disney Would Be NOTHING Without Women | Women’s History Month At Walt Disney World: Snacks & Drinks. YouTube.
Legendary Disney Imagineer and Haunted Mansion Royalty Retires After 55 Years
Today in Disney History, 1955: Mickey Mouse Club Airs Its First Episode – WDW Magazine
Magical Quests Blog 