Before Camila Cabello’s latest version, these stars also donned those famous glass slippers.
The story of “Cinderella” has captivated audiences for thousands of years. As it’s been passed from generation to generation, the story has evolved into the Disney fairy tale that we know today. And in more recent years, “Cinderella” has been transformed for the big screen — giving some of Hollywood’s biggest stars the opportunity to bring the princess to life like never before.
Through the years, quite a few actresses have been given the chance to give Cinderella their own spin, from Julie Andrews’ magical portrayal of the princess to Hilary Duff’s modern take on the fairy tale. This month, Camila Cabello is the latest actress to fill Cinderella’s glass slippers in a reimagining of the story where her ambitions for the future are even bigger than her ballgown.
Find out which other stars have put on their own pair of glass slippers…
Camila Cabello is putting a new spin on Cinderella in her new Amazon Prime Video film, where she plays an ambitious young woman whose dressmaking dreams are bigger than her family and village will allow. Instead of chasing Prince Charming, Cinderella chases her goals, with a little help from her fairy godmother.
“Playing Cinderella is honestly a dream for me. It’s a little bit terrifying but I am so excited because anyone that knows me knows that I am obsessed with musicals, obsessed with Disney, I want to be a Disney princess. I literally know the soundtrack to every princess movie ever. It’s going to be a remake and I read the script and I just relate,” Camila told ET.
The movie is streaming now.
2. Sofia Carson
In 2016, Sofia Carson took on the role of Cinderella in “A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits” as she gave the film a musical twist. The story follows a young woman who was left in the care of her evil stepmother but dreams of being a pop star. When her stepsisters audition for a Cinderella musical that promises a recording contract to the lead actress, she finds a loophole that allows her a chance at her dreams and the leading man.
“It was a dream come true to be a part of the franchise. I adore the Hilary Duff ‘Cinderella Story’ and the Selena Gomez and Lucy Hale one. So to be among them is such an honor for me,” Sofia told Music Choice.
3. Lily James
Lily James took the lead role in the live-action Disney remake of “Cinderella.” The lavish feature film also starred Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter, and Cate Blanchett as it gave the classic fairy tale a contemporary interpretation for the big screen.
“It wasn’t something I’d ever thought about. It’s hard to see yourself as a princess, because it involves a huge leap of the imagination and sort of requires you to believe you can be that, which is a scary, weird thing,” Lily told EW of playing Cinderella.
Anna Kendrick starred as Cinderella in 2014’s big screen adaptation of musical “Into The Woods,” which featured quite a few recognizable fairy tale princesses. While Anna’s self-conscious Cinderella, who ran from her prince, was completely relatable, she says she never thought much about the character growing up.
“To be honest, I never thought that much about Cinderella. The Disney character kind of scared me as a kid. There was a real darkness to it that kind of freaked me out. But [‘Into The Woods’] Cinderella, which is taken largely from the Brothers Grimm, is really complicated…There’s a real question of why she’s so hesitant and wants to run away. It’s not because the dress disappears at midnight. It’s because she doesn’t know what she wants,” Anna told the Denver Post.
5. Lucy Hale
Lucy Hale shared her version of Cinderella in “A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song.” In the flick, she plays an aspiring singer whose dreams are crushed by her stepfamily. When the son of a major record label executive enrolls in her school, she tries to recruit his help to make her dreams come true.
“The year has changed and the wardrobe’s different and the storyline is kind of altered a bit but it’s still the main events of the classic ‘Cinderella’ fairy tale that you read growing up,” Lucy said in an interview with Warner Brothers.
6. Selena Gomez
While Selena Gomez was starring on her own Disney Channel show, she was also taking on another iconic Disney role. Selena stepped into Cinderella’s shoes in “Another Cinderella Story” in 2008, where she played a high schooler who dreams of being a dancer but her wicked legal guardian and her daughters stand in her way.
Anne Hathaway portrayed her own Cinderella in the big screen adaptation of beloved novel “Ella Enchanted.” The story was based on the fairy tale but added a few dark twists like Ella’s cursed inability to disobey, or, as her fairy godmother put it, “the gift of obedience.” Anne says she read the book a few years before getting the role and was “floored by it”.
“I just wanted to make Ella as honest as possible. I wanted to make her very likeable. And just imagining what would – how it would feel if you were a naturally free-spirited person, being told you couldn’t do what you wanted to do. And just sort of wanting to take it from them,” Anne told BlackFilm at the time.
8. Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff’s “A Cinderella Story” has become one of the most iconic rom-coms of the early 2000s. The fairy tale inspired flick saw Hilary’s character spending her days working at her family’s diner that her awful stepmother had been running since her father died. When she turns to the internet for friendship, she unknowingly becomes pals with the most popular guy at her high school — and must find a way to sneak away from the diner to meet him at the Halloween dance.
“I feel like there’ve been so many remakes of ‘Cinderella’ but never really a modern day, high school version of it. I love that about it and I love that the characters are very different. Each character kind of had a twist to it and especially Sam, who was very ambitious. Yet even though she was put down throughout the whole movie, torn down and told that she was nothing, she still had goals for herself and dreams that she’d accomplish. Then the boy came, which is great, but it’s a good message for girls,” Hilary told Girl.com.au at the time.
Drew Barrymore reimagined Cinderella in “Ever After: A Cinderella Story,” which saw the classic fairy tale take place in France during the middle of the Renaissance. While a handsome prince is still involved, the empowering story is all about taking control of your own situation and crafting your own happy ending.
“I came across this story that said, ‘The Grimm brothers had it all wrong, that Cinderella rescued herself.’ And I thought, ‘Rescue yourself? That’s who I want to be, that’s who I need to be in this life,'” Drew said at a Hearst talk after the film’s release.
10. Brandy Norwood
Brandy Norwood starred in the Wonderful World of Disney remake of “Cinderella,” marking one of the first times a Black actress was cast in the leading princess role of a Disney classic. Whitney Houston took on the role of Fairy Godmother and served as an executive producer, personally calling Brandy at her parent’s home to ask if she wanted the role.
“I didn’t really understand how revolutionary this was going to be, how big of an impact it was going to be. I knew that it was special, but I didn’t really know how special. When I was able to see it all come together and see the finished product of it, I was like, Wow, this is different. This is something I had never seen. It inspired me. It was as if I wasn’t even watching me as Cinderella,” Brandy told Vulture.
11. Gemma Craven
In 1976, Gemma Craven took on the lead role in “The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella.” The musical film didn’t stray too far from the original fairy tale that is widely known, although things almost didn’t have a happy ending. Towards the end of the film, Cinderella and her prince are told they cannot be married by the king and Cinderella is exiled from the kingdom. The prince agrees to marry whoever his parents choose, although he is still in love with Cinderella. While Cinderella is living in exile, her fairy godmother discovers what happened and sets out to make things right. She convinces the king to change the law so that Edward can marry the girl of his choice and Cinderella and the prince are eventually married.
Lesley Ann Warren was the star of a made-for-TV broadcast of “Cinderella” back in 1965, which went on to be rebroadcast eight times. She took opera lessons in preparation for the musical in addition to long hours on set, which sometimes went on for 23 hours at a time. Despite the arduous work, Lesley Ann says it was all worth it.
”I actually never get tired of talking about it, because it was such a magnificent part of my life and…such a huge blessed sort of launching pad, you know, to my career. It was an unbelievable experience for me…It was really a dream,” Lesley Ann Parade.
13. Julie Andrews
Before she was Mary Poppins, a young Julie Andrews was Cinderella in the first ever live television broadcast of “Cinderella.” The original CBS broadcast was viewed by 107 million people and received critical acclaim. Julie later revealed that Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had written the televised musical just for her.
“In 1957, CBS decided to create a Broadway style musical that could be seen in every living room in America. Since Broadway was synonymous with Rodgers and Hammerstein, the famous team was invited to write a musical based on the story of ‘Cinderella.’ Naturally, I was delighted when Rodgers and Hammerstein asked me to be their Cinderella,” Julie said in a later broadcast of the film.
14. Leslie Caron
In 1955, “Cinderella” was brought to the big screen, with Leslie Caron taking on the role of Cinderella. “The Glass Slipper” brought the traditional fairy tale to life, as the French-American actress sang and danced — all while wearing a massive ball gown.
“One amusing note on my creation of the character of Cinderella: I was, like everyone else in Hollywood, under the influence of Marlon Brando’s performance in ‘On the Waterfront,’ which had just come out. His modern style of acting created such a revolution in Hollywood. Yes, I admit it, ridiculous as it may be, my inspiration for Cinderella was…Marlon Brando,” Leslie wrote in her memoir “Thank Heaven.”
15. Mary Pickford
“Cinderella,” starring Mary Pickford, is widely considered one of the first film adaptations of the classic fairy tale. The 1914 silent film also starred Mary’s real-life husband Owen Moore. The film helped skyrocket Mary to fame, becoming one of Hollywood’s first major stars, securing her celebrity status and massive fanbase.
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