While Disney has grown into a massive entertainment company worth billions, it first started out as a modest animation studio.
In December 1937, Disney released its first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with a budget of $1.5 million; critics even called the film “Disney’s Folly,” predicting it would bankrupt the company. The power of hindsight tells us this wasn’t the case, and Snow White grossed $6.5 million by the end of the following year.
Disney continued to create high-quality animated content, but perhaps the most notable of these are Disney Princess stories. Following Snow White, the outfit continued to put out more movies inspired by classic fairy tales, especially ones about royalty.
These first Disney Princess titles resonated with many viewers and continue to do so today, and even though Disney isn’t the only studio to reimagine fairy tales, its versions are some of the most familiar to movie lovers everywhere.
Although it might feel like there are hundreds, there are only 13 official Disney Princesses. The lineup all have some type of relationship to royalty, but there aren’t very strict requirements. Here is every single one of them, ranked by order of their first appearance.
1. Snow White
Snow White is the first Disney Princess and first appeared in 1937’s, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, the title character is an innocent, sweet princess who is kind toward others and has an affinity for forest animals. She becomes the victim of her stepmother, a queen who becomes jealous of her beauty when her Magic Mirror describes Snow White as “the fairest in the land.” The queen tricks the princess into eating a poisoned apple and she then falls into a deep sleep, only to be awakened via “love’s first kiss.”
Snow White is not only the first princess, but also the youngest, as she is only 14.
2. Cinderella
Cinderella is the second Disney Princess and appeared in Walt Disney Productions’ 12th animated film in 1950. After the death of her father, she becomes a prisoner in her own home and is forced to clean up after her stepmother and two stepsisters.
Despite her rough home life, Cinderella remains kind and frequently daydreams of a better life. She attends the royal ball with the help of her Fairy Godmother after her stepsisters brutally destroy the dress she had made by hand. When the clock strikes midnight, she must flee the ball before her improved, magical gown disappears and leaves behind a single glass shoe the prince uses to find her.
Cinderella is 19 years old during her story, and it’s based on the fairy tale popularized by French author Charles Perrault.
3. Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
Aurora is another princess inspired by a Charles Perrault fairy tale. She is first introduced in the 1959 film bearing her name. On the day of her christening, Aurora is tragically cursed by the evil Maleficent as revenge for not being invited to the party (how hard is it to send an invite?). By the evening of her 16th birthday, Aurora is cursed to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die.
The three good fairies lessen the curse so that Aurora would only fall into a deep sleep but could be awakened by true love’s kiss. Despite hiding her in the forest and raising her themselves, the three fairies cannot prevent the curse from being realized but as any good Disney fan knows, Aurora lives happily ever after in the end.
4. Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
The first Disney Princess in 30 years, Ariel first appeared in 1989’s The Little Mermaid, inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale with the same name. Ariel is shown to be more headstrong and rebellious than the previous princesses (though most have a bit of a rebellious streak) but is just as kind and caring toward her loved ones.
Although she is a mermaid princess, Ariel is extremely curious about the human world, and even collects human artifacts. After saving the human Prince Eric from drowning, Ariel falls in love with him and exchanges her voice to the sea witch Ursula in order to become human. Although she is in danger of losing her voice permanently, she is able to regain it and live happily ever after.
Ariel is 16 in the film, and is the only Disney Princess confirmed to have children, as she has a daughter in the animated sequel.
5. Belle (Beauty and the Beast)
Based on the fairy tale by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Belle first appears in the 1991 film Beauty and the Beast. She’s is an avid reader and is naturally inquisitive and independent, longing for an adventure like the ones in her books.
When her father’s horse returns without him, Belle journeys into the forest and meets the Beast, who has taken her old man prisoner after he trespassed on the Beast’s property while lost. Belle convinces the Beast to take her captive in his stead, setting off a chain of events that lead to the pair falling in love.
Belle is the first Disney Princess to be from a confirmed region (France). Unlike the others, her age is controversial; many believe her to be 17, while the film’s co-animator Mark Henn firmly believes she is in her 20s.
6. Jasmine (Aladdin)
Jasmine is the first princess to be the titular character of her film (the 1992 movie Aladdin, based on a story from One Thousand and One Nights), and the first non-white Princess. She’s the only child of the Sultan of Agrabah, and is kind toward her pet tiger Raja and curious about life outside the palace.
After she is told she must find a suitor as the law requires her to marry (even though she’s only 15), she disguises herself in order to leave the palace and meets Aladdin for the first time. She falls in love with him while he is disguised as Prince Ali and after defeating the evil Jafar, the two live happily ever after.
7. Pocahontas
Pocahontas first appears in the 1995 film of the same name and is the first Disney Princess to be (very loosely) based on a real person. While not a princess, Pocahontas is the only child of Chief Powhatan and as his daughter, is treated with the same respect as the others. She is shown to be a kind, confident, and intelligent woman. Like many of her peers, she has a way with animals, befriending Flit the hummingbird and Meeko the raccoon.
She is roughly 18 or 19, and unlike previous princesses, does not end up with her (initial) love interest.
8. Mulan
Mulan is the protagonist of the 1998 movie classic, and is the first non-royal Disney Princess. Inspired by the legendary figure from The Ballad of Mulan, she disguises herself as a man in order to take her father’s place in the Imperial Chinese Army.
With the help of the disgraced family guardian – a red dragon named Mushu – she begins her training and tries to fit in with the other soldiers, where Mulan is shown to be strong, caring, and hard-working.
Mulan is 16 in the film, and while she achieves the title of Imperial Consul, she is the first Disney Princess to technically not be a princess.
9. Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)
Tiana first appears in the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog, based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale and The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker. She’s extremely goal-oriented, and works two waitress jobs in order to achieve her dream of opening her own restaurant.
Tiana is ecstatic when her best friend, the rich Southern belle Charlotte, hires her to cater a masquerade ball she is throwing for the handsome Prince Naveen, who she intends to marry. When the money is still not enough to purchase a location for her restaurant, Tiana is devastated; things take a turn for the worse when Prince Naveen inadvertently turns Tiana into a frog.
Tiana is 19 in the film, and becomes royalty when she eventually marries Prince Naveen.
10. Rapunzel (Tangled)
Rapunzel first appears in the 2010 film Tangled as a princess kept locked in a tall tower by the witch, Mother Gothel, who keeps Rapunzel hostage for her hair’s healing abilities.
Although Rapunzel is the princess of a nearby kingdom, she remains unaware of her royal heritage for much of the movie. She’s a smart, creative girl who has managed to stay sane despite being isolated for the majority of her life. Despite her longing for adventure, she feels guilty for disobeying her adopted mother and leaving the tower after convincing the thief Flynn Rider to take her to see the sky lanterns the nearby kingdom releases on her birthday.
Most of Tangled takes place on Rapunzel’s 18th birthday, and the tale is inspired by the Brothers Grimm story of the same name.
11. Merida (Brave)
Merida first appears in the 2012’s Disney/Pixar blockbuster Brave, and is notably the first princess to be a completely original character. A princess by birth, she lives in a kingdom in Scotland.
She is very talented in archery and has a strong personality, torn between creating her own destiny and doing what is expected of her. When she is told she must marry a suitor from an allied kingdom, she gets into an argument with her mother which leads to her inadvertently transforming her mother into a bear.
Merida is 16 in Brave, and is the first Pixar Princess.
12. Moana
Moana first appears in the 2016 film of the same name and is the daughter of chief Tui of the Polynesian island Motunui. In the movie, Moana is tasked with saving her island by restoring the Heart of Te Fiti along with the help of the washed-up trickster demigod Maui. The title hero is a self-assured character who is physically strong and compassionate, and cares deeply about her community.
Moana is 16 years old, and notably does not have a love interest.
13. Raya (Raya the Last Dragon)
Raya is the most recent character to become a Disney Princess, and first appeared in 2021’s Raya and the Last Dragon. Like Merida and Moana, she’s a wholly new character, and is not inspired by any existing stories.
Hailing from the fictional sub-continent of Kumandra, Raya is a warrior princess from a long line of guardians who guard the powerful Dragon Gem, which protects the region from the evil Druun, spirits who turn all in their path to stone. When her father holds a feast for the surrounding tribes, the Dragon Gem is stolen and broken by the other tribe leaders. After her father is turned to stone by Druun in the resulting scuffle, Raya vows to enlist the dragon Sisu’s help to recreate the gem and banish the Druun once and for all.
