Margaret Kerry, the plucky sitcom actress and dancer who served as the model and inspiration for Disney’s Tinker Bell, has passed away.
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Kerry died of lung cancer on June 11 in Wilmington, North Carolina.
“It is with profound sadness that we share news of the passing of Margaret Kerry (Boeke), our beloved Tinker Bell,” her family wrote on Kerry’s Facebook page. “Margaret passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on June 11, 2026, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her three adoring children, Ellen, Christina, and Eric, were with her as she lost her courageous battle with lung cancer at the age of ninety-seven.”
“And remember, on any given night, look up into the night sky and search for that “Second Star to the Right”. Upon closer look, you might just notice that star shining a little brighter in Margaret’s honor,” Kerry’s family added.
Born Margaret McCarty in Springfield, Illinois, on May 11, 1929, Kerry’s life began with loss. Her mother died during childbirth, and she and her two siblings were subsequently placed for adoption. According to Deadline, at age 3, Kerry and her adoptive parents relocated to Los Angeles.
Per IMDb, by the late 1930s, Kerry was a child actor with small film roles, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. She later appeared on television in shows like The Lone Ranger and The Andy Griffith Show.
Margaret Kerry Lands Her Breakthrough TV Role
Kerry’s breakthrough role came in the ABC family sitcom The Ruggles (1949–1952). She played Sharon Ruggles, the college-aged daughter of the show’s star, Charlie Ruggles. In the popular series finale, her character gets married and leaves for her honeymoon.
Kerry also lent her voice to several animated series, including Clutch Cargo in 1959, Space Angel from 1962 to 1964, and Captain Fathom in 1965. These cartoons notably used the uncanny Syncro-Vox system, which superimposed real human lips onto the animated characters’ mouths. She also voiced characters in The New Three Stooges in 1965.
However, Kerry’s most famous role, ironically, was one where she never spoke a word. In the early 1950s, she auditioned for Disney’s Peter Pan and became the live-action reference model for Tinker Bell. All the fairy’s iconic movements and sassy facial expressions…that was all Kerry.
Of course, Tinker Bell, with her pointy wings and iconic green leaf dress, became so popular that she practically gave Mickey Mouse a run for his money as Disney’s mascot. It was this flying fairy and her pixie dust, after all, who opened every episode of The Wonderful World of Disney.
The actress Tinker Bell was based on has died aged 97
— Cartoon History (@Cartoonhistory2) June 12, 2026
Margaret Kerry performed Tinker Bell's movements for Peter Pan, helping create one of Disney's most iconic characters pic.twitter.com/lWbY1ZnYLW
Kerry later became a motivational speaker. From 1992 to 2004, she was a producer, writer, and host for a Christian radio program in Los Angeles. Her autobiography, Tinker Bell Talks: Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life, was published in 2016.
Kerry was married to director Dick Brown, whom she met on the set of The Ruggles, from 1951 to 1984. She was later married to John H. Willcox from 1987 until his death in 1999. In 2020, she married Robert Boeke, a former boyfriend from the 1940s with whom she had reconnected. He passed away on May 24, 2024.