Only A Few Actors Can Say They've Played More Than One Disney Princess On Screen
It's a testament to Disney's branding that mainstream audiences don't necessarily know who directed or starred in some of their better-known movies. Although many have seen the studio's 1950 animated feature "Cinderella," most audiences wouldn't be able to tell you that Ilene Woods played the title character, or that Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Clyde Geronimi directed the film. Disney's "Aladdin" changed that with the casting of Robin Williams as the Genie. And the trend of hiring known screen celebrities, often not voice actors, to sell an animated feature to a broad audience went to a whole other level in the wake of DreamWorks' "Shrek." The advent of the internet also helped certain actresses become known among Disney fans. Nowadays, many adults know the names of the actresses who played characters like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Ariel the Mermaid.
By Disney's own selection, there are thirteen "official" Disney Princesses: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora (from "Sleeping Beauty"), Ariel (from "The Little Mermaid"), Belle (from "Beauty and the Beast"), Jasmine (from "Aladdin"), Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana (from "The Princess and the Frog"), Rapunzel (from "Tangled"), Merida (from "Brave"), Moana, and Raya. Sadly, Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" was not incorporated into the canon when Disney purchased Fox in 2019.
Each one of those characters has been played by a different voice actress in their original animated forms. Respectively, they were played by Adrianna Caselotti, Woods, Mary Costa, Jodi Benson, Paige O'Hara, Linda Larkin, Irene Bedard, Ming-Na Wen, Anika Noni Rose, Mandy Moore, Kelly MacDonald, Auli'i Cravalho, and Kelly Marie Tran.
Most of those actresses have only played one character each (even if some of them reprised their roles for sequels or video games). But only two of the above actresses have played more than one Disney Princess across media. A third performer, singer Lea Salonga, also provided the vocals for two separate Princesses.
Jodi Benson
Prior to "The Little Mermaid" in 1989, actress Jodi Benson had appeared on stage, singing in a production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" before making her Broadway debut in "Marilyn: An American Fable" in 1983. In 1986, she appeared in the Howard Ashman musical "Smile," which gave her a connection to Disney. Ashman was producing an animated version of "The Little Mermaid" for the studio, and Benson was able to secure an audition to play the title character. She got the part. Benson's voice, paired with Alan Menken's songs, might be one of the central reasons why "The Little Mermaid" was a big hit.
After "The Little Mermaid," Benson secured a great deal more voice work for films and TV, playing Barbie (both the Mattel and "Toy Story" versions), Thumbelina, Pepper-Ann, Aquagirl, Helen of Troy, Lady (of "Lady and the Tramp"), and a ballerina toy in "The Little Engine that Could." For a generation of cartoon consumers, Benson's voice became a new standard. She was simply how cartoon heroines were supposed to sound.
Only deep-cut Disney fans will also know that Benson also played one of the Big Thirteen in the 2001 series "House of Mouse." That show was set in ToonTown, where animated characters from across the Disney canon could gather and interact. On the few occasions where Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" appeared, she was played by Jodi Benson. Why original Belle actress Paige O'Hara didn't play the role is not widely known to the public, but one can posit that Benson was given O'Hara's blessing.
Incidentally, Jodi Benson also played a character named Belle in a 1997 animated version of "A Christmas Carol."
Auli'i Cravalho
Actress Auli'i Cravalho was only 16 when she played the title role in the 2016 feature "Moana," and she hadn't been working as a professional actress prior. Cravalho was merely a hopeful high school student who, like hundreds of others, went out for the role. She was lucky enough to get it, and became a celebrity as a result. Since "Moana," Cravalho has continued to work, appearing in movies like "All Together Now," the queer romance "Crush" (Cravalho herself is bisexual), and the comedy "Darby and the Dead." She also appeared in the recent musical reboot of "Mean Girls" and will return to play Moana in the recently announced "Moana 2."
On TV, Cravalho was in the 2018 series "Rise," and the 2023 series "The Power." Some may also recall that she appeared in a televised version of "The Little Mermaid" stage musical ... playing Ariel. Queen Latifah played the sea witch Ursula in that production, and rapper Shaggy played Sebastian the crab. Because it was televised, "The Little Mermaid Live!" certainly counts as the second time Cravalho played an "official" Disney princess.
There is a live-action remake of "Moana" in the works, and Dwayne Johnson is said to return to the role of Maui, although it seems Cravalho will be replaced by a different actress. Perhaps at the ripe old age of 23, Cravalho has aged out of the role.
Lea Salonga
Singer and actress Lea Salonga is a veteran of both the stage and the music studio, having released 12 studio albums since 1981. She also appeared on the cast albums for "Miss Saigon," "The King and I," "Flower Drum Song," and several others. Her professional debut came in 1978 in a Filipino production of "The King and I," and Salonga has stayed rather busy ever since. She played the title character in "Annie" in 1980, Rhoda in "The Bad Seed," Éponine in "Les Misérables," and Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady." Her stage credits are too numerous to run down here.
Salonga's highest-profile American film job came in 1992 wherein she was asked to provide the singing for Jasmine in "Aladdin." It's common that voice actors do not provide their own singing, so the hiring of Salonga over Jasmine-speaking actress Linda Larkin should not be perceived as a slight by any stretch. "A Whole New World" was all Salonga.
Disney seemed to have liked Salonga's pipes, as they hired her again in 1998 to provide Ming-Na Wen's singing portions for Mulan in "Mulan." Salonga returned to play noth Jasmine and Mulan in future ancillary Disney productions like "Mulan II," and "Disney Princess: Christmas of Enchantment." She also played both roles in several Disney-produced video games. She has become something of a Disney repertory player.
In the Philippines, however, Salonga is a major celebrity. She has been awarded the Presidential Merit Award and served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations. She is an advocate for LGBT rights and is part of anti-racist charities. She even appeared on a postage stamp. For someone like Salonga, Disney roles are but a small part of an enormous life and career.