Belle is a fictional character who is the female protagonist of Walt Disney Pictures' thirtieth animated feature film Beauty and the Beast (1991). She reprises her role as protagonist in the film's two direct-to-video midquels Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997) and Belle's Magical World (1998), direct-to-video spin-off Belle's Tales of Friendship (1999), and live-action television series Sing Me a Story with Belle. From 1991 to 2011, Belle was voiced by American actress and singer Paige O'Hara, who auditioned for the role after reading about it in The New York Times. Since 2011, Belle has been voiced by American actress Julie Nathanson.