Kerry provided live action reference for 'Peter Pan' animators in the early 1950s, and worked in Hollywood and radio her entire life.
UNITED STATES - AUGUST 19: 90th Anniversary of the Art of Animation Celebration at the Great American Ink Animation Fine Art Gallery in Brentwood, United States on August 19, 2004 - Margaret Kerry, the original model for the Disney character "Tinkerbell" during the 90th anniversary of the art of animation celebration.
Margaret Kerry, the actress and dancer who modeled the movements and facial expressions for Tinker Bell in the Disney animated “Peter Pan,” has died at age 97. BURBANK, CA - DECEMBER 10: Margaret Kerry, reference model for Tinker Bell poses at a reception to celebrate 90 Years of Disney animation at The Walt Disney Studios on December 10, 2013 in Burbank, California.
“It is with profound sadness that we share news of the passing of Margaret Kerry , our beloved Tinker Bell,” her family announced in a statement on Facebook.
“Margaret passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on June 11, 2026, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her three adoring children, Ellen, Christina and Eric, were with her as she lost her courageous battle with lung cancer at the age of ninety-seven. ” “And remember,” the statement continues, “on any given night, look up into the night sky and search for that ‘Second Star to the Right’.
Upon closer look, you might just notice that star shining a little brighter in Margaret’s honor. With love to an irreplaceable friend, talented entertainer and loving mother. ” Kerry was born Margaret McCarty on May 11, 1929 in Springfield, Illinois.
After losing her mother during childbirth, she was placed for adoption , per She moved to Los Angeles at age 3 with her adoptive parents and became a working child actor with roles in TV on shows like “The Long Ranger” and “The Andy Griffith Show,” as well as films like “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. ” Kerry’s most significant role was as college-age Sharon Ruggles on “The Ruggles,” an early sitcom that ran from 1949 to 1952.
LONDON - MARCH 03: Margaret Kerry arrives at the Odeon West End, Leicester Square for the Peter Pan VIP Screening on March 3, 2007 in London. She also had a successful career as a voice actor, with roles on “Clutch Cargo,” “Space Angel,” and “Captain Fathom. ” Kerry’s best known role was entirely offscreen as the reference model for Tinker Bell.
She performed the movements and facial expressions for the character who would go on to be one of the studio’s unofficial mascots. Later in life, Kerry worked as a motivational speaker and as a producer, writer, and host of a Christian radio program on the Los Angeles station KKLA-FM. She also wrote her autobiography, “Tinker Bell Talks: Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life” in 2016.
Kerry was married to “The Ruggles” director Dick Brown but later divorced.
She then married John Wilcox and was with him until his death in 1999. In 2020, she married Robert Boeke, a former boyfriend from the 1940s who she had reconnected with late in life. He died earlier this year on May 24. A man was critically injured after he fell nine feet down a hole while working on a residential sewer line.
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