Who starred as Cinderella in the 1997 version by Walt Disney?
Cinderella (1997 film)
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By the late 1990s, Disney had grown interested in reviving their long-running anthology program The Wonderful World of Disney.[24] Hoping to relaunch the series using "a big event", Disney CEO Michael Eisner approached Zadan and Meron about potential television projects; the producers suggested Houston's Cinderella, which Eisner green-lit immediately.[19] After relocating their production company, Storyline Entertainment, from CBC to Disney Studios,[21] Zadan and Meron re-introduced the project to Houston.[23] Agreeing that Cinderella required a certain "naivete ... that's just not there when you're 30-something",[20] the producers suggested that Houston play Cinderella's fairy godmother instead,[23] a role she accepted because it was "less demanding" and required less time to film.[25] For the titular role, Houston recommend singer Brandy, a close friend of hers,[23] in her first major film appearance.[26] Brandy had been starring on the sitcom Moesha at the time but was still relatively new to television audiences, despite her success as a recording artist.[22][27][28] Houston believed that Brandy possessed the energy and "wonder" to play Cinderella convincingly, admitting that their fictional relationship as godmother and goddaughter translates "well on-screen because it starts from real life";[7] when Houston telephoned Brandy to offer her the role, she introduced herself as her fairy godmother.[20][29] Brandy, who identified "Cinderella" as her favorite fairy tale,[22] was the first person of color to portray the character on screen,[20][30] with both Brandy and Houston becoming the first African-American actresses to play their respective roles in any screen adaptation of the fairy tale,[1][31] although an all-black modern-day re-telling of "Cinderella" entitled Cindy had premiered in 1978.[32][33]