Margaret Kerry, the perky actress and dancer who served as the model and inspiration for the Disney animators creating the pixie Tinker Bell for the 1953 classic Peter Pan, has died. She was 97.
“It is with profound sadness that we share news of the passing of Margaret Kerry (Boeke), our beloved Tinker Bell,” said a family statement 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.”
The statement continued, “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.”
From 1949-52, Kerry starred as daughter Sharon Ruggles on the live ABC family sitcom The Ruggles, one of the first TV shows to emanate not from New York but from Hollywood. In the highly rated series finale, her character gets married and goes on her honeymoon.
As a voice actress, Kerry starred on Clutch Cargo in 1959, Space Angel in 1962-64 and Captain Fathom in 1965 — those cartoons used the Syncro-Vox system, with real human lips superimposed over the animated characters’ mouths — and on The New Three Stooges in 1965. She did live segments with Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Joe DeRita as well. All were for Cambria Productions, a company led by her first husband, Dick Brown.
