Disney’s animated film showing the story of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale Sleeping Beauty was released in 1959. The main villain, Maleficent, was voiced by the American actress Eleanor Audley. But she was also an inspiration to her looks. Animators Frank Thomas and Marc Davis observed Audley’s facial features, expressions and gestures to design the character.

Eleanor Audley also voiced Cinderella’s evil stepmother in the 1950 animated film Cinderella. That time the film creators modelled the character based on the actress too.