Cruella de Vil
Cruella de Vil is a fictional character in British author Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. A pampered and glamorous London heiress and fashion designer, she appears in Walt Disney Productions' animated feature film, One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), voiced by Betty Lou Gerson; in Disney's 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2003), voiced by Susanne Blakeslee; in Disney's live-action 101 Dalmatians (1996) and 102 Dalmatians (2000), portrayed by Glenn Close; as well as Cruella (2021), portrayed by Emma Stone; and in many other Disney sequels and spin-offs.
Cruella de Vil | |
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Cruella de Vil as she appears in Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians. | |
First appearance | The Hundred and One Dalmatians (1956) |
Created by | Dodie Smith |
Voiced by |
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Portrayed by |
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In-universe information | |
Full name |
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Nickname | Devil woman |
Title | Evil woman |
Occupation | Socialite, fashion magnate, Designer |
Affiliation | Disney villains |
Family |
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Spouse |
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Children | Carlos de Vil (son; Descendants) |
Nationality | British |
In most of her incarnations, Cruella kidnaps the 15 puppies of the main Dalmatian characters, Pongo and Perdita, intending to turn them into fur coats along with 84 other Dalmatian puppies she legally bought before. The live-action Disney film reveals that Cruella chooses to skin puppies because when short-haired dogs grow older, their fur becomes very coarse and does not sell as well in the fur fashion industry as the fine, soft fur of puppies.
The character became a pop-culture icon and a famous symbol of dastardly greed, vanity and evil. Disney's Cruella ranked 39th on AFI's list "100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains".