Who Is Halle Bailey? Meet the Actress Cast in Disney's Live-Action 'The Little Mermaid'

Disney is on a live-action adaptation kick. In 2019, the company premiered Dumbo, Aladdin, and The Lion King. In 2020, the studio premieres their reimagined, live-action version of Mulan. Recently, Disney announced who will be playing Ariel in their remake of The Little Mermaid — Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle. Here’s what we know about the Grammy-nominated actress and singer.

Halle Bailey is in a group called ‘Chloe x Halle’

Halle Bailey might portray a mermaid who lives under the sea, but on land, she sings in the sister duo, Chloe x Halle. Together, Chloe x Halle found success, beginning with their cover of “Pretty Hurts” by Beyoncé. Since then, Chloe and Halle Bailey performed worldwide and premiered their original music.

The sisters don’t just sing and write songs together. Halle and Chloe both starred in the Black-ish spin-off, entitled Grown-ish. This year, they sang America the Beautiful at the Superbowl. They also earned two Grammy nominations, including “Best New Artist.” A portion of their success is thanks to another powerful woman in music, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.

Beyoncé, the star of Disney’s live-action ‘The Lion King,’ loves her

You might have seen Halle Bailey in Beyoncé’s music video for “All Night,” the actress sitting next to Spider-Man: Far From Home actress Zendaya. Beyoncé had her eyes on Chloe and Halle for years, since they uploaded their cover of “Pretty Hurts” to YouTube.

According to BBC, Chloe x Halle were among the first artists signed to Beyoncé’s record label, Parkwood Entertainment. The sister duo opened for Beyoncé during the European leg of her “Formation” world tour. Additionally, they opened for Beyoncé and Jay-Z on their “On The Road II” stadium tour.

Now, Beyoncé stars as Nala in Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Lion King. The 19-year-old, Halle Bailey, follows closely in her footsteps, starring as Ariel in their live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

Halle Bailey will star as Ariel in Disney’s live-action ‘The Little Mermaid’

When Disney announced that they cast Halle Bailey as Ariel in their live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, it was initially met with some criticism and racism online. Some fans of The Little Mermaid stated that Ariel is the only princess with red hair, so it’s unfair not to represent red-headed girls. Some celebrities rushed to support Disney’s casting choice.

“Congrats to Halle Bailey on the new Little Mermaid movie! You’re going to be amazing! (If you need a Prince Eric I volunteer as tribute,” tweeted actor Garrett Clayton‏.

“Us white girls, who grew up with The Little Mermaid, deserve a POC Ariel,” said one fan on Twitter. “If we’d seen one back then, fewer of us would have been conditioned to only accept people with light/white skin. Disney, you made an amazing decision by hiring Halle Bailey. This is going to be great.”

Disney starts production on their live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid in April 2020. There’s no word regarding when the movie premieres in the United States.

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