Over the last few months I have made the voices behind the Disney Princesses a focus of mine, getting to know where these wonderful women came from, how they got to Disney, and what they did with their career afterward. So far, I have discussed the lives of Adriana Caselotti, voice of Snow White, and Ilene Woods, voice of Cinderella. In the spirit of continuing my Disney Legend series, I believe it is best to now focus on our Princess Aurora’s voice actress, Mary Costa.

Adriana Caselotti, Ilene Woods, and Mary Costa.

Mary Costa’s Early Career

Mary was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her love for singing began when she was as young as 6 years old, singing at Sunday school and eventually joining the chorus. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was a teenager, where she continued to sing in high school. After high school, she studied at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music.

One of her first TV appearances was as a Chrysler spokesperson, and as a co-host of Climax!, appearing on CBS each week. She also appeared in magazines during her time with Chrysler. She appeared in movies such as Marry Me Again (1953) and The Big Caper (1957).

Mary Costa in Marry Me Again. Image from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046048/mediaviewer/rm4211672064/ — Mary Costa in *Marry Me Again*. Image from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046048/mediaviewer/rm4211672064/

She was very successful already in her own life, and she began doing performances with larger names as she got more acquainted in the industry. Mary sang with Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Edgar Bergen, and Charlie McCarthy. Her main genre of music was Opera, which she later became very well-known for.

Costa Gets the Role of Sleeping Beauty

In an interview on the Paul O’Grady Show in 2008, Mary recalls the night back in 1952 when she was asked to audition for Walt Disney. She was at a dinner party, singing around a piano, when Walter Schumann, (the original composer of the film before being replaced) approached her.

“He said ‘I don’t want to shock you, but could you audition tomorrow at 10 o’clock for Walt Disney Studios?’, and I said ‘Could I?!’”

— Mary Costa

Mary continued to talk about how she went into the audition the next morning with a sound booth full of people, and it went well, all the way up until they showed concern over her Southern accent. After some discussion, they agreed that she could be trained to sound more English for the character. The next day, she got a phone call from Walt Disney himself, saying she landed the role as Princess Aurora.

The search for the voice of Aurora went on for 3 years before they found Mary, and she believed that she was chosen because of her natural abilities to sing in the higher register. She also said that Walt was looking for a mix of popular and classical sound, and she could bring both.

Construction model sheets from 1955. Image from: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/433190057893824395/

The Recording Process of Sleeping Beauty

Mary was only 22-years old when she got the role of Aurora. Recording for Sleeping Beauty began that same year in 1952, but took longer than usual to finish as during the 1950s, Walt was heavily focused on developing and opening up Disneyland. Though his attention lied elsewhere some of the time, he was very invested in the film, and Mary believed it was one of his favourites. It also took some time to get the new innovations in technology added to the film, including the Super Technirama 70 Widescreen aspect that Disney was trying out for the first time.

The Sleeping Beauty title card. Image from: https://jimattulgeywood.blogspot.com/2015/06/wondrous-to-see-widescreen-splendor-of.html

Costa has talked fondly about her time working with Walt Disney over the years, and her enjoyment of being able to be a part of such a classic film in history. During her time recording, Walt and herself had a conversation about her dream of being a singer. Walt said to her:

“Mary, you need to have 3 more D’s to make [your dream] work. Dedication, Determination, and Discipline. If you leave one out, it won’t work.”

— Walt Disney

Mary also admired Eleanor Audley’s work as the voice of Maleficent as well. In the same interview on the Paul O’Grady show, she said that her and the other voice actors would sneak into the booth just to hear Eleanor record her parts.

Mary Costa and Marc Davis. Image from: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/the-90-year-old-voice-of-sleeping-beauty-asks-disney-fans-to-stop-contacting-her-195324.html

The Premiere of Sleeping Beauty

To get people excited about the new film that was to be a part of the Silver Age of Disney, Walt named the focal point of Disneyland after the film, before it had even been released. Disneyland opened in July of 1955, with Sleeping Beauty’s Castle right at the center of it. Sleeping Beauty wasn’t released until January 29th, 1959.

Walt Disney under Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Image from: https://www.micechat.com/279414-remembering-legendary-disneyland-photographer-renie-bardeau/

The film only made $51.6 million USD in the box office during it’s release. At the time, comparing it to Disney’s other films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ($418M) and Cinderella ($264M), it didn’t do as well. However, comparing Sleeping Beauty to other films released in 1959, it took the 10th spot as the highest grossing film of that year. The film gained more traction with it’s rereleases several years later.

The premiere of this film was a major catalyst for the rest of Mary’s successful career.

Mary Costa’s Career After Disney

Mary Costa and Bing Crosby. Gif from: https://www.tumbral.com/tag/Mary%20Costa

Mary has had an extremely fruitful and meaningful life since launching her career as Princess Aurora. She began making appearances as herself on popular television shows, including the Jack Benny Program in 1957, The Frank Sinatra Timex Show in 1960, and to sing alongside Bing Crosby on his 1971 Christmas special.

In 1958 she performed at the Hollywood Bowl gala concert, where she was noticed by Igor Stravinsky, a Russian composer. Igor was highly fascinated by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty ballet, and so was Walt. This ballet was one of the major reasons why Walt wanted to recreate this fairytale in the first place. This was a very full circle moment for Costa. She went on to play Anne Trulove in the San Francisco premiere of Stravinsky’s The Rake Progress.

Mary continued to sing on live stages, like in 1962 when she performed at the 34th annual Academy Awards. In 1963, she was selected by Jackie Kennedy to sing at President John F. Kennedy’s memorial. The next year, she made her Metropolitan Opera career debut in Verdi’s La Traviata.

Costa performed in over 44+ operas in her lifetime, performing at the Royal Opera House in London, recording for the Rome Opera House Orchestra and Chorus, and eventually launching her own Knoxville Civic Opera Company in 1978.

Mary Costa’s Retirement and Current Life

Mary officially retired from show business in 2000, but has not slowed down at all since. In 1993 she began a career as an inspirational speaker, drawing from her time as Disney and speaking with Walt. She has spent her time focusing on benefits for children and raising funds for children’s charities. In 1997 she attended a screening of Sleeping Beauty in her hometown of Knoxville, which also doubled as a benefit to aid abused children. She has contributed in raising funds for Read Across America, Childhelp USA, and many other charities.

Mary Costa for her National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal. Image from: https://www.arts.gov/honors/medals

In 2003 she became a part of the National Council of Arts. In 2020, she received the NATS Lifetime Achievement award. In 2021, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal. Mary has also secured an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at Carson-Newman College, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane and Musical Letters at the College of Arts and Sciences in Tennessee.

Mary Costa in 2014 receiving her doctorate. Image from: https://www.utk.edu/history/mary-costa-honorary-degree

Mary Costa is now 91-years old in 2021, and she is the only surviving original cast member of Sleeping Beauty. She still speaks fondly of her time as Princess Aurora, and is still very passionate about children’s associations.