In The Little Mermaid, Ariel's character is based on the title character of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" story, with many changes in her personality. However, Ariel's appearance was based on a few people, including the animator's wife, model Sherri Stoner, who provided live-action references, but mostly it was none other than Alyssa Milano who was 16 at the time. Milano perfectly fit the "sweet" and "youthful" look the creators were looking for. She was also asked to host 'The Making of "The Little Mermaid", where they revealed to her that she was the inspiration.