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Margaret Kerry, Model for Disney’s Tinker Bell Character, Dies at 97
The actress and dancer helped shape Tinker Bell in Peter Pan and later became a Disney icon tied to the character’s enduring legacy.
- On Thursday, June 11, 2026, Margaret Kerry, the actress who provided the movements for Disney's Tinker Bell in the 1953 classic Peter Pan, died of lung cancer in Wilmington, North Carolina, at age 97.
- Disney animators, including Marc Davis, used Kerry as a reference model to create the pixie's movements and expressions after she choreographed a 3-minute pantomime routine to secure the role.
- Beyond her Disney work, Kerry starred as Sharon Ruggles on the early ABC sitcom The Ruggles and pursued a successful voice-acting career with roles in Clutch Cargo, Space Angel, and Captain Fathom.
- In a statement on Facebook, the family asked fans to "look up into the night sky and search for that 'Second Star to the Right'" in her honor.
- After seven decades apart, Kerry reconnected with former sweetheart Robert Boeke and married him in 2020, before Boeke died earlier this year on May 24.
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24 Articles
The inspiration for the Disney character Tinker Bell has passed away from lung cancer at the age of 97.
·Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources24
Leaning Left6Leaning Right5Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution35% Left, 35% Center
Bias Distribution
- 35% of the sources lean Left, 35% of the sources are Center
35% Center
L 35%
C 35%
R 30%
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