Halle Bailey Says It’s ‘Amazing’ to Walk in Footsteps of ‘Beautiful Black Women Pioneers’ in ‘Little Mermaid’
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‘The Little Mermaid’ star has paid homage to the Black actresses who she watched portray Disney princesses as a child
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Halle Bailey
Halle Bailey has thanked the Black women in Disney who came before her, following her star-making turn in The Little Mermaid.
Having warmed the hearts of Disney fans for her portrayal as Ariel, Bailey has given credit to the “amazing” Black actresses she grew up watching as Disney princesses, who inspired her to take on the iconic role.
Championing Brandy and Anika Noni Rose for their roles, Bailey, 23, told ET: “I loved Brandy as Cinderella; she was so amazing, such a role model and inspiration and a really big kind of studying point for me as I was taking on Ariel.
“I just watched how amazing she was in that role and how comfortable she was in her skin and how impactful to audiences and little girls like me who watched it. And Anika Noni Rose, who’s just outstanding.
“I’ve had the chance to meet her and we got to sing [The Princess and the Frog‘s] song together, “Almost There” for [2022’s Disney Family Singalong] with my sister [Chloe Bailey]. She was always so kind!”
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Speaking on the positive mark left by these actresses before her, Bailey added: “There are these beautiful Black women pioneers who’ve done this before and been there for me to be able to say, ‘OK, I can do this.'”
Bailey went on to describe the “beautiful” and “overwhelming” moments she has experienced in seeing the reactions from young Black girls to her now as their new Disney princess, in videos shared on social media.
“It’s been such a beautiful moment for me to be able to see the reactions of the babies — it makes me just emotionally overwhelmed honestly and I cry as soon as I watch them,” The Little Mermaid star shared.
Bailey said “it heals that girl inside of me” to see the impact the representation from her latest role has had on the Black community and young generation watching her.
Disney
‘The Little Mermaid’ is in theaters now.
“I think of the little girl that’s still in me, honestly, and it heals that girl inside of me to watch them feel like they have representation and someone to look to, to know that they deserve to be in those places too,” Bailey said.
“[It’s] so important. It just makes me cry anytime I see any of those videos.”
Bailey has much to celebrate, after the release of The Little Mermaid, after the film smashed the box office in its opening weekend.
Following its release in theaters on Friday, the re-imaged 1989 Disney animated classic, made $95.5 million across 4,320 screens in North America, per the Associated Press, which cited studio estimates on Sunday.
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