Margaret Kerry

Margaret Kerry (born Margaret McCarty, later changed to Peggy Lynch; May 11, 1929 – June 11, 2026) was an American screen actress, dancer, voice artist, camera double, radio producer, director, host and media personality, best known for her work as a model for Walt Disney Pictures, where she served as the inspiration for the Peter Pan character of Tinker Bell, which she also pantomimed.

Early life

Born as Margaret McCarty on May 11, 1929, in Springfield, Illinois, she was adopted at three years old and moved to Los Angeles. Her adoptive parents later had her name legally changed to Peggy Lynch Her first role was as a fairy in the 1935 film A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Max Reinhardt. She worked under her real name as a dancer and actor in three of the Our Gang comedy shorts.

Kerry served as a camera double for Elizabeth Taylor in the film National Velvet at MGM. She attracted the attention of Eddie Cantor, who cast her in the role of his teenage daughter in the film If You Knew Susie. Cantor thought Lynch needed a more theatrical-sounding name to be more noticeable as an actor, so she officially became Margaret Kerry.

Work with Disney Kerry answered an audition call during the planning stages of the animated feature film Peter Pan. The audition, supervised by animator Marc Davis, required her to pantomime the motions that would be used as live-action reference for the animation of Tinker Bell. As Tinker Bell was to be non verbal, her movements would be integral, and Davis sought a dancer that could help embody the character. Kerry won the part and spent six months at the Disney Studios on a mostly empty sound stage pantomiming the part.

Radio Kerry was a producer, writer, and host of What's Up Weekly - Ministry Loves Company on KKLA-FM, Los Angeles, a Christian radio station, from 1992 to 2004. Also serving as the station's community services director, she headed an outreach program that connected to more than 200 non-profit service agencies. Kerry was a certified seminar leader by the American Seminar Leaders Association and co-author and facilitator of the FUNdamentals of Speaking Seminars. She continued to meet fans and attended many conventions, events, and seminars throughout the United States. As a supporter and contributor within the animation community, Kerry served as a board member of ASIFA-Hollywood for a number of years. In 2019, Kerry self-published a booklet They All Look Alike To Me with short stories detailing her having prosopagnosia, also known as "face blindness".

Personal life and death Kerry was married three times. She was married to Dick Brown from 1951 to 1984. They have three children:Ellen Seibel: Married to Joel Seibel, an Emmy Award-winning animation producer. Christina "Chris" McCarty and Eric Norquist. She married John Wilcox from 1987 to his death in 1999. In 2019, she reconnected after 70 years with her former boyfriend, 94-year-old WWII veteran Robert Boeke. Boeke had passed a store called Tinker Bell Toys while visiting Europe for D-day's 75th anniversary, and told his friend he had always loved Tinker Bell; his friend found Kerry's email address. They were married on Valentine's Day 2020 in a ceremony at the Little Brown Church in the Valley in Studio City, California.

Kerry suffered from prosopagnosia and wrote and spoke publicly about coping with the cognitive disorder.

Awards and honors In 2012, Kerry was the recipient of the Disneyana Fan Club President's award. In 2019, on the occasion of her 90th birthday, Kerry was honored with certificates by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on behalf of the City of Los Angeles; the Los Angeles City Council; and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors via 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger. Kerry also received a card from the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, who noted Kerry's life as "an important part of the American story and the history of Cinema and Entertainment." On February 15, 2020, Kerry was honored with the Disneyana Fan Club Legends award. On February 16, 2020, Kerry was presented with the Ward Kimball award by the board of Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn. In 2023, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, Kerry's original Tinker Bell ballet slippers were put on display at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, commemorating her portrayal of the fairy character.

Partial filmography