Margaret Kerry, who was the original model for Tinker Bell in the 1953 Disney animated classic Peter Pan, died last week. She was 97 years-old.
Kerry Passes Away At 97
Kerry’s death was confirmed in a statement posted to her official website, Tinker Bell’s Gift Shop.
“It is with profound sadness that we share news of the passing of Margaret Kerry (Boeke), our beloved Tinker Bell,” the statement read. “Margaret passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on June 11, 2026.”
The statement went on to say that Kerry’s three children “were with her as she lost her courageous battle with lung cancer at the age of ninety-seven.”
“Margaret was deeply grateful for the extraordinary life that she enjoyed and felt tremendously
blessed by her loved ones and the countless friends and fans that she met along the way,” the statement continued. “Margaret wanted everyone to know that she was at peace and ready for this next journey in her life, secure in the knowledge that God was eager to bring her home, with Him, into heaven.”
Kerry’s History
Kerry was born Peggy Lynch in Springfield, Illinois in 1929. When she was 3 years-old she was adopted by a couple who were old enough to be her grandparents. They brought her to Los Angeles, where she scored her first role as a fairy in the 1935 film A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She then appeared in three Our Gang shorts, also known as The Little Rascals.
“I was poor,” she told Woman’s World in 2025 when asked why she started acting at such a young age.
It was the comedic actor Eddie Cantor who gave Kerry her stage name when he starred with her in the 1948 movie If You Knew Susie. She later recalled that told her the name Peggy Lynch, “didn’t have any fizz.” That’s why he advised her to go by Margaret Kerry. This would be the name that she’d keep for the rest of her life.
Kerry’s Time As Peter Pan
As a young working actress and model, Kerry was called in while the artists and producers were planning Peter Pan.
“At that time, they didn’t have electronics. Everything was done by hand,” she later explained. “So, they cast a person in the role and then filmed them with 35-millimeter film.”
Kerry would act out Tinker Bell’s scenes in complete silence while a man filmed her. He would then take the film back to the animators, who would draw her.
When Kerry met with Disney animator Marc Davis, she asked him what he wanted from her in the role of Tinker Bell.
“I said, ‘What do you want her to be? Ditzy like Betty Boop? Above it all like the Queen of the Angels?’ He said, ‘Margaret, we want her to be you,'” she remembered.
That’s why she turned Tinker Bell into a dancer, as she’d been dancing herself all her life.
Looking back at Tinker Bell’s place in movie history, Kerry could not be more proud.
“I could have been the actress who got her throat slashed in Psycho. What do you do with that?” she said last year. “Everything that I have done, people are enjoying today. That’s amazing.”
Kerry’s Tinker Bell’s Gift Shop ended their statement announcing her death with a direct message to her fans.
“And remember, on any given night, look up into the night sky and search for the ‘Second Star to the Right,'” it read. “Upon closer look, you might just notice that star shining a little brighter in Margaret’s honor.”
Rest in peace, Margaret Kerry.