American actress Paige O'Hara is known not only for her roles in theater and cinema, but also for her voice acting. Her voice is featured in Beauty and the Beast, a sequel to a successful project called A Wonderful Christmas, and in Belle's Wizarding World. The celebrity became famous as a singer and a participant in the creation of the external image of the heroine.
Donna Paige Helmingtoller is known to fans as Paige O'Hara. The star's career started on Broadway. He debuted as Ellie Mae Chipley in the 1983 production "Show Boat". And for the first time on stage she appeared at the age of 4.
The path to the vocation
The biography of the future celebrity began in 1956. The child was born in Fort Lauderdale on May 10. The family had Irish, Dutch, German and Scottish roots.
From an early age, the girl demonstrated acting skills. She attended Nova High School and Parkway Middle School of The Arts. The baby became a member of the local children's theater and performed in its productions.
The passion for the stage diminished at the age of 12. Paige started to study vocals. Judy Garland became her idol. His professional career began on Broadway.
In the musical show "Show Boat" in 1983, she played the role of singer and dancer of the floating theater, Ellie. The singer recorded her part for a disc with tracks from the production. The successful work was repeated again in a musical production for Houston's Grand Opera in 1989, an adaptation for the Cairo Theater. Ellie also performed for the Grammy-nominated version of the musical.
In many performances, she played leading roles. In 1995, Paige sang the role of Fantine in the Broadway production of Les Miserables. Nelly Forbush Page has been at the Australian South Pacific. The main feature of the party was the lack of duets of the main characters.
Theatre
In the musical "Oklahoma!" the character of the star was Ado Annie, the friend of the main character. She cannot deal with her feelings for two different men, almost until the end of the production choosing between them. In Drood, based on Dickens's unfinished novel, the star played several leading roles, becoming both Alice Nutting and Edwin Drood.
In The Legend of Prince Valiant, Paige voiced Alita, Valiant's lover. The prince and his friends enter the legendary Camelot, participate in battles and become one of the Knights of the Round Table. The actress came to the project in the second season.
O'Hara has always been a fan of Walt Disney's work. Therefore, I gladly agreed to take part in the cartoon project "Beauty and the Beast". She was offered to be voiced by Belle. In the story, a girl living in a village adores books and dreams of real feelings. She agrees to live in the Beast's castle in exchange for her father's freedom.
The filmmakers decided that the heroine should not constantly think about her external attractiveness, and therefore made the heroine a little strange. Page was chosen because of the unique timbre and tone of voice, reminiscent of the manner of Judy Garland, ideally combined with the image of Belle. By the way, the appearance of the star's idol served as the prototype for the image of the main character. Her partner again became tenor Robbie Benson, who worked on the project about Vallianta and Aleta.
The parts of the heroine were recorded live with the orchestra, and not overlaying music on the voice. In this way, the creators of the musical decided to add energy to the images. The premiere of the full-length cartoon was a huge success. The critics especially liked the musical score.
Film and dubbing
In 1999, viewers saw the sequel, A Wonderful Christmas. Belle's love changed everything around her. The enchanted inhabitants of the castle became people again, and baby Chip for the first time met the holiday not in the form of a cup. The boy asks his mother to tell him what happened last year. The magic during Christmas is felt most strongly in the castle of the former Beast.
According to the early intention of the creators, the cartoon was to be a direct continuation of the heroes' adventures. The role of the villain was assigned to the brag of the boastful and narcissistic admirer of Belle Gaston, Avenent. However, then the idea was rejected, making the giant organ of Forte the embodiment of evil, who did not want to turn the owner of the castle into a human.
Beauty became O'Hara's heroine again. In 1998, the actress again became Belle for Belle's Wizarding World. The project included three stories, the action of which took place in a castle already familiar to the audience. They told about the relationship of the main characters and the adventures of familiar characters.
In 1999's Belle's Tales of Friendship, Paige's voice tells the story of the three piglets, Hansel and Gretel, and other stories from the magical Book of Fairy Tales. Appeared in the video format "Beauty & the World of Music" and "Chapters of Enchantment" featuring a celebrity.
New roles
In the cute family cartoon The Legend of the Candy Cane, the actress voiced Jane Aubrey. According to the creators' plan, a mysterious stranger enters the town of West Sage, lost in the steppe. None of the townspeople know that from now on their life will be different.
And again, the success of the project was brought by the voices of the actors. In no small measure, this success was due to Paige. The actress played a familiar role in all video games based on the famous fairy tale.
In the 2006 film "Enchanted". The character of the actress was the heroine of the soap opera Angela. In the story, the evil stepmother, wanting to maintain power over the kingdom, sends her stepson's chosen one, Giselle, into the real world. Now the girl will have to survive in Manhattan, where it is very difficult to find a real feeling.
The Disney heroine brought the performer a Disney Legend Award.
In April 2011, O'Hara played Judy Garland in the musical From Gumm to Garland: JUDY.
The star arranged a personal life. Actor Michael Piontek became her chosen one. They met him in 1989. They officially became husband and wife in 1995.
The celebrity continues to collaborate with the Disney studio. In 2016, she performed a famous role in honor of the 25th anniversary of the film. Belle's voice also appeared in Ralph Against the Internet in 2018.
