Merida is the 16-year-old daughter of Queen Elinor, who rules the kingdom alongside her husband, King Fergus. Queen Elinor's expectations and demands of her daughter make Merida see Elinor as being cold, unfeeling, and distant, causing friction between the two. Despite Elinor's desire to see Merida as a proper royal lady, Merida is an impetuous girl with wild, unruly ginger hair and a passionate desire to take control of her own destiny.
 
Merida has honed her skill with the bow and is the most skilled archer in her kingdom. She is also well-trained in sword-fighting and an expert horsewoman, riding wildly across the countryside on her horse, Angus. When Merida comes of age to have her hand in marriage, Merida becomes determined to not be forced into marriage, where her actions nearly cause a war between the kingdom and the three clans. After a heated argument with her mother, Merida visits a witch who grants her a spell to change her fate. Merida uses the spell on Elinor in an attempt to make her change her mind about the marriage, only to turn Elinor into a bear.
 
As the two work together in finding a way to break the curse, they manage to rekindle their bond and Merida manages to resolve peace between her kingdom and the clans without being forced into marriage.
 
She is the first original princess in the line-up that is not inspired by either literature (Snow White, Cinderella, etc.) or real life (Pocahontas, Mulan) works, and the first without a love interest. She also never sings a major song, thus breaking away from the traditional line-up, though as a child, she sang a small verse of a song in Gaelic with her mother, and Merida's rich Scottish brogue makes her the second Disney Princess with an accent other than Standard American or British. Merida officially joined the Disney Princess court on May 11, 2013, at Walt Disney World's Cinderella Castle.

The heroine from the animation "Tangled" is based on the German title character from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Rapunzel". Her long hair, which is said to measure 70 feet (21 meters) in length, not only has magical healing powers but can also be used as a weapon.
 
Given the power of a magic golden flower, Mother Gothel kidnaps her as an infant to use her power to keep herself young. 18 years later, Rapunzel sneaks away from her tower with a thief, Flynn Rider, and sets on her own journey to find the flying lanterns that float into the sky every year on her birthday.
 
Along the journey, Rapunzel falls in love with Flynn who starts revealing the caring individual he is behind his roguish exterior while slowly discovering her true identity as a princess. To free her from Gothel's clutches, Flynn cuts her hair, thus destroying her power, and she is returned to her family before she eventually marries Flynn.
 
Rapunzel was "officially welcomed into the Disney Princess Royal Court" during a promotional event at Kensington Palace in London on October 2, 2011.

Inspired by the novel "The Frog Princess" by E.D Baker which in turn was inspired by the fairy tale "The Frog Prince" by the Brothers Grimm, Tiana is the heroine of the 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog and is the first African-American princess.
 
She dreams of opening her own restaurant through hard work. By kissing Prince Naveen in frog form, she is turned into a frog because she kissed him for material gain, not love. So they are forced to set on a journey to find a way to undo the magic.
 
Eventually, she finds herself falling for the handsome but spoiled prince who manages to change throughout the journey. By marrying the prince, Tiana becomes a real princess, and with her love, breaks the spell with a kiss. They finally open their own restaurant at the end of the film.
 
Tiana officially became a member of the Disney Princess line-up on March 14, 2010, at the New York Palace Hotel in Manhattan, New York City.

The character of Snow White first originated in 1937 from a Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Schneewittchen" about a beautiful German princess with a jealous stepmother. Walt Disney turned this classic fairy tale into his very first animated feature film. Her true love is the Prince, who breaks her sleeping death 'slumber' (caused by the Evil Queen) with a kiss. 

Disney's Pocahontas is based on the real-life Native American "princess" of the Powhatan tribe. Her real name was Matoaka since Pocahontas was her nickname and meant 'Playful One'.
 
She is a free spirit, which she gets from her deceased mother. Pocahontas wants to choose her own path and doesn't want to marry her father's chosen husband, Kocoum. Once the English settlers arrive, she teaches a man named John Smith about nature and her culture. The two later fall in love. Once John is taken prisoner, Pocahontas helps prevent a war from commencing between their people.
 
She is the first woman of color to be the protagonist of her respective film, along with being voiced by an actor of the same ethnicity. She is also the first princess to choose her people over her lover.

The spunky, independent Arabian Princess of Agrabah, who dreams of seeing what lies beyond her palace walls and be freed from her father's constant pestering of arranged royal marriage.
 
She falls in love with Aladdin, a street rat. Though Jasmine did not recognize Aladdin in his prince disguise, she fell in love due to him seeing her as a person and having a good heart. After Aladdin reveals his true identity and saves Jasmine and her kingdom from Jafar, Jasmine's father removes the royal law so Jasmine can be with Aladdin, whom she eventually marries.

Fa Mulan (or simply Mulan) is a brave heroine who impersonates a male soldier to fight for the Chinese Imperial Army in order to protect her ailing father who would have been required to go if she had not gone in his place. Mulan pretends to be her father's son, Ping, risking death, and dishonor if she is discovered. Joining a struggling troop of rookies led by Captain Li Shang (or simply Shang), "Ping" is the driving force behind the troop's dramatic change into respectable soldiers.
 
"Ping" is admired by everyone until "he" is injured during the battle and requires medical care, resulting in the outing of "his" secret. Since "Ping" had saved Shang's life, Shang repays his debt and spares Mulan's life. No longer allowed in the Imperial Army, Mulan goes rogue and defeats the leader of the Hun army, Shan Yu. The Chinese Emperor praises Mulan, recognizing her as a hero for saving China and for bringing honor to her family. Mulan is welcomed back into her home with loving, open arms.
 
The character of Mulan is based on the heroine from the well-known ancient Chinese poem "The Ballad of Mulan". She is the only Disney Princess who is not royal by blood or marriage. However, she has been bestowed the honor of being an official Disney Princess because of her popularity as well as what she represents. The film is praised for its cultural authenticity and prevailing messages including family, love, courage, and most notably, the empowerment and equal rights of women.

Queen Anna of Arendelle (pronounced "AH-na") is the protagonist of Disney's 2013 animated feature film, Frozen, and the deuteragonist of its 2019 sequel. She is the second-born daughter of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna, the younger sister of Elsa the Snow Queen, and the contemporary ruler of Arendelle.
 
During their childhood, an accident involving Elsa's magic created a rift between the two sisters, leaving Anna devoid of love for many years. Despite this, Anna remained big-hearted and optimistic, albeit socially awkward. When their estrangement incidentally triggers an eternal winter, Anna embarks on a perilous journey to save her kingdom and mend the broken bond between herself and her sister. Three years after her adventure, a rekindled Anna and Elsa embark on another journey to confront the elemental spirits of the Enchanted Forest. Upon their journey's end, Elsa chooses to remain in the forest as the fifth spirit, so she abdicates the throne, allowing Anna to be crowned Queen of Arendelle. Anna is loosely based on Gerda, the female protagonist of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale "The Snow Queen".

The French commoner who is the heroine of the 1991 animated classic Beauty and the Beast is based on the French fairy tale "La Belle et la Bête" by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, which was abridged by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.
 
The name Belle translates from the French word for "beauty". In the film, she selflessly trades in her freedom, for that of her father's, in a bargain with the Beast, thus becoming his prisoner. She soon learns to see the good hidden behind his hideous appearance and rough manner and over time, falls in love with him. By confessing her love at the end of the movie, she breaks the curse placed on him by the enchantress. The Beast and his staff are then restored to their human forms, and Belle becomes his princess.

The daughter of Motunui's village chief, Moana was chosen by the Ocean to restore the Heart of Te Fiti and save her island from life-killing darkness. Due to an ancient law upheld by her father, Chief Tui, Moana is forbidden from ever going beyond the reef. She eventually finds the courage to do so, with the help of a powerful demigod named Maui, and the guidance of her Gramma Tala.
 
Moana is one of the few Disney Princesses not to be based on a preexisting character. Furthermore, unlike her most recent predecessors, Moana was not inducted with a coronation event. Instead, she was slowly integrated via Disney Princess marketing such as books, social media posts, and toy lines following the release of her film, before being added as a member to the franchise's official website in 2019.

Elsa the Snow Queen is the deuteragonist of Disney's 2013 animated feature film, Frozen, and the protagonist of its 2019 sequel. Born with the power of ice and snow, Elsa is the firstborn daughter of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna, the older sister of Queen Anna, and the former queen of Arendelle.
 
Elsa is loosely based on the titular character of "The Snow Queen", a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. Though pivotal to its events, the character had little presence in the original story. The Disney adaptation expanded the Snow Queen to serve as a villain initially, but the advent of "Let It Go" inspired the filmmakers to rewrite the character as a tragic heroine.

Best known as the heroine of the 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty, which is based on Charles Perrault's "La Belle au Bois Dormant". Although her dress changes from blue to pink thanks to a disagreement between two of her guardians, Merryweather and Flora, outside the film, she is most commonly seen wearing pink.
She was cursed at birth to die before the sun sets on her 16th birthday by the evil fairy Maleficent by pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. One of the three good fairies, Merryweather, was able to weaken the curse by changing death to a deep slumber that could only be awakened by true love's kiss.
 
Aurora is shown to be one of the taller princesses in the franchise.

The heroine of the 1989 film is based on the Danish fairy tale "Den Lille Havfrue" by Hans Christian Andersen. Ariel is a 16-year-old mermaid who dreams to live a life on land. So it comes as no surprise when her dream causes her to fall victim to accepting a shady offer from Ursula the Sea Witch promising her a lifetime of happiness with Prince Eric as long as she carries out the rules outlined in the signed, binding contract.
 
Ursula persuades her to trade her beautiful voice in exchange for becoming a human for three days. During these three days, Ariel must not only make Prince Eric fall in love with her, but the two must seal their love with a kiss. If Ariel is unable to uphold her end of the agreement, she must return to the sea to live out her days in Ursula's lair as a prisoner, joining the many other "lost souls" that have fallen victim to Ursula's "wish-granting" over the years.
 
However, Ariel is able to defeat Ursula with Eric's help and thanks to her father, she becomes human permanently and marries Eric at the end of the film. Hans Christian Andersen's original character dissolves into foam on the sea after the prince marries someone else, but through an act of compassion is transformed into a spirit of the air. Co-director Ron Clements felt the story was too tragic, and changed the original character from the tragic but hopeful heroine to the brave and resourceful Ariel.