Adriana Caselotti

Biography

Adriana Elena Loretta Caselotti was born on May 6, 1916 in Bridgeport, Connecticut to an Italian-American family. Her father was a music teacher and vocal coach, and her mother was a singer who performed with the Royal Opera Theatre of Rome. At seven years old, her family moved to Italy, where she later studied singing at the San Getulio convent near Rome. She re-learned English and began studying singing with her father after returning to New York. In 1934, Caselotti attended Hollywood High School, where she sang in the senior class Girls' Glee Club and had a leading role in The Belle of New York. She was hired by Walt Disney as the voice of Snow White in 1935, for which she was paid $970, but was not credited. Caselotti's only notable opera role was Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto, which she sang in 1944. After her work on Snow White, Caselotti struggled to find new opportunities and tried a career in opera again at her family's urging. She also appeared in several films, including The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946), as well as making promotional appearances for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Caselotti was married four times and had trouble finding new opportunities after her work on Snow White. She made guest appearances on several TV shows, including The Julie Andrews Hour and The Mike Douglas Show. In the early 1990s, Caselotti re-recorded "I'm Wishing" for the Snow White Grotto at Disneyland, and in 1994 was named a Disney Legend. Caselotti died of cancer at her Los Angeles home on January 19, 1997, at the age of 80.