The woman who gave Tinker Bell her magic has passed on. Margaret Kerry, the actress and dancer whose movements brought one of Disney’s most beloved characters to life, died on June 11, 2026, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her family confirmed she passed peacefully after a courageous battle with lung cancer, surrounded by her three children, Ellen, Christina, and Eric. She was 97.
Kerry was best known for being the live-action model for Tinker Bell in Walt Disney’s 1953 animated classic Peter Pan. While Tinker Bell never spoke a word in the film, Kerry made sure the character said everything through movement and expression alone — and the result became one of the most iconic figures in Disney history.
The Role That Defined a Legacy
Kerry answered an audition call during the planning stages of Peter Pan. The audition, supervised by Disney animator Marc Davis, required her to pantomime the motions that would eventually be animated as Tinker Bell, including preening in a mirror at her feet. She won the audition and spent the next six months at Disney Studios on a mostly empty soundstage pantomiming the role on film.
When Kerry asked animator Marc Davis how he wanted Tinker Bell to appear, he simply told her, “Margaret, we want her to be you.” Her response? “Golly, I can do that.” She turned the character into a dancer, noting there is “always a ballet move” in Tinker Bell’s gestures.
Kerry also provided the movements and voice of the red-haired mermaid in the Neverland lagoon scenes, giving her an uncredited but meaningful second role in the very same film.
Tinker Bell went on to become far more than a supporting character. She flies over the castle in the opening of Disney films, anchors the Disney+ logo, and has greeted guests at the parks for decades. Every time that silhouette traces across a screen, the starting point is Margaret Kerry on a studio soundstage in the early 1950s, selling every gesture to a camera with no animation around her yet.
A Career That Spanned Decades
Kerry’s connection to Disney and entertainment stretched well beyond Peter Pan. She began her movie career as a child in the 1935 feature A Midsummer Night’s Dream, fittingly playing a fairy. As a teenager, she was cast in the 1948 musical comedy If You Knew Susie alongside Eddie Cantor and Joan Davis. Cantor himself gave her the stage name Margaret Kerry.
She went on to appear in productions including The Little Rascals, The Andy Griffith Show, The Three Stooges, and The Ruggles. She also had a successful voice acting career, with credits including the 1959 cartoon Clutch Cargo, and in 1962, Space Angel, and in 1965, Captain Fathom.
Her autobiography, Tinker Bell Talks: Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life, was published in 2016. In her later years, she was remembered by fans for chatting and interacting with them at many conventions and Disney events.
A Love Story as Magical as the Fairy Tales She Helped Create
Kerry’s passing comes just weeks after the death of her husband, Robert Boeke, who died on May 24, 2026. The pair first met as sweethearts more than 70 years ago before life took them in different directions. They reunited in 2019, rekindled their romance, and spent six years together as husband and wife.
Her family shared a beautiful farewell in her memory: “And remember, 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.”
Margaret Kerry was 97. She is survived by her three children and a legacy that will endure every time Tinker Bell sprinkles pixie dust across a Disney screen.
