Ilene Woods, the voice of Cinderella and a Disney Legend, has died at the age of 81 according to a post by D23. No further details have been released at this time.
Woods was born in 1929. By the time she was 11 she had her own local hometown radio show. At 14, she had a weekly show on the ABC Network in New York City. She toured with the USO during World War II. In 1948, some songwriter friends asked her to record some demo recordings as a favor. The songs were Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes, and So This is Love.
When Walt Disney heard her songs he selected her as the voice of Cinderella over 400 others who had auditioned for the part. “I learned a very good lesson. Never pass up doing a good deed for friends!” After Cinderella, she moved on to television appearances in programs such as The Steve Allen Show. In later life she became a portrait artist. In 2003 she was named a Disney Legend, an award that honors individuals whose “imagination, talents and dreams have created the Disney magic”.