Amazing Women in Disney History

As Women's History Month draws to a close, I wanted to take a moment to honor the work of the countless women who shaped The Walt Disney Company into what it is today. Walt Disney often used to joke that he was overrun by women at home, with his wife, 2 daughters, and even the family dog being female. In 1942, in a speech made to all his employees, Walt is quoted as saying:

"If a woman can do the work as well, she is worth as much as a man, The girl artists have the right to expect the same chances for advancement as men, and I honestly believe they may eventually contribute something to this business that men never would or could." 

From the Ink and Paint girls, to Theme Park Innovators, to the talented Voice Actresses who brought life to some of our favorite characters, The Walt Disney Company's history is full of amazing stories of even more amazing women. To list all of them would take forever (seriously. Forever.) so let’s just take a look back at a few of my favorites.

Harriet Burns
Harriet was the first woman ever hired by Walt Disney Imagineering in a creative capacity. She had a Bachelors degree in Art from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and spent a year studying advanced design at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. In 1953, Harriet moved to LA with her husband and daughter to support her husband’s pursuit of an acting career. When her husband was struggling to support his family, Harriet stepped up and found a job designing and building props and sets for Dice Display Industries. When the company went out of business in 1955, Harriet was tipped off by a friend to apply at the Walt Disney Company (even though Disney wasn't hiring women at the moment). Harriet started out painting props and sets for The Mickey Mouse Club, eventually becoming the show's color styling coordinator, and designing the famous Mouse Clubhouse. Upon joining Walt Disney Imagineering, Harriet helped to create iconic attractions such as Sleeping Beauty Castle, Storybook Land, the Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean. She also designed all of the singing birds in the Enchanted Tiki Room (and yes, she did it all in a dress and heels). For the 1964 World’s Fair, she worked on stage design and figure finishing for both Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and the Carousel of Progress. In the year 2000, Harriet was honored with a Disney Legends award.

Charlotte Clark

I couldn't find a picture of Charlotte,
so here's a shot of Walt with some
of her classic Mickey dolls

In the early 1930s, following the release of Steamboat Willie, Charlotte Clark was commissioned to design and construct the first Mickey Mouse doll. Needless to say, her doll was a hit! Soon the demand for Mickey dolls exceeded Charlotte's ability to supply them! Her response was to design a sewing pattern for the dolls, so that Mickey fans across the country could make their own dolls at home. Walt and Roy were so happy with the success of Charlotte's Mickey doll that they rented a workshop (which came to be known as The Doll House) where Charlotte and six other seamstresses would produce between three and four hundred dolls per day! For years, Charlotte continued to HAND MAKE dolls for Walt to give as gifts to his family and friends. She was also responsible for the design of other classic Disney dolls including Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pinocchio. As someone who handles Disney plush characters every day, I was completely fascinated by where they came from.  

Lucille Martin
Okay, Y'all! I am so excited to tell you about Lucille Martin!
I had never heard of her before I began to do research for this post, but she has quickly become one of my favorite humans. Lucille is a Disney Legend for her work as an administrative assistant at The Walt Disney Company. "What?! What's so legendary about a secretary?" I know...but wait til you hear this story. After moving to California as a single mother of two in 1964, Lucille Martin applied to work in the secretarial pool at Walt Disney Studios. She wasn't there very long though, because in 1965, Lucille became Walt Disney's personal secretary. She remained in that position until his death about a year later. After helping to close Walt's office in the year after his passing, Lucille went on to work with Ron Miller as he moved from Studio Executive to President, and eventually CEO, of The Walt Disney Company. But wait, there's more! When Ron Miller retired in 1984, Michael Eisner personally asked Lucille to stay on as his personal assistant! That's right! Lucille served not one, not two, but THREE consecutive Disney CEOs! The STORIES this woman must have had! AND SHE WASN'T DONE YET! In 1995, after 31 years with the company, Lucille was promoted to Vice President and Special Assistant to The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors, a position she held for almost ten years until she retired in 2006. Lucille passed away in 2012, but her legacy lives on through all her hard work and dedication to The Walt Disney Company.   

Margaret Disney

And finally, we arrive at one of the most influential woman in the company's history. A woman who contributed more to Disney as a brand than any other person, including Walt himself. A woman who never even got to see the company in existence. I'm talking about Walt's Aunt Margaret. 

The wife of Walt's uncle, Robert Disney, Margaret is credited with gifting Walt his first drawing set when he was a little boy. After hearing how Walt had ruined the walls of his family home by drawing on them with tar, Margaret thought it might be a good idea to get him drawing with paper and pencils, so as to save his mother from having to repaint the walls again. It was with that set that Walt drew a picture of a horse that was owned by a local doctor. He then turned around and sold it to the doctor, beginning his career as a paid artist. In fact, when Walt got his first paying job as a cartoonist, the first thing he did was run to his Aunt Margaret saying "They're paying me to draw pictures!"

Now I know it sounds a little far-fetched to give Margaret credit for Walt's brilliant artistic mind, but just take a minute to think about what the world around you would look like if Aunt Margaret hadn't come to visit with a tablet and crayons. What would the world look like if Walt hadn't had an aunt who supported and nurtured his creativity? So I want to challenge all of you reading this: If there is an artist in your life- a cartoonist, or writer, or actor, or dancer, or musician- how are you encouraging them? Are you being their Aunt Margaret? 

These are just a few of the countless women responsible for making The Walt Disney Company what it is today. I had such a hard time choosing only 4 people to highlight in this post (I didn't even get to Lillian Disney or Gaby's fave, Lori Coltrin). Did I miss someone you were hoping to read about? Who is your favorite Ink & Paint girl, or Imagineer, or voice actress, or director? Tell us about her in the comments!