Cruella de Vil

This article is about the character. For the song, see One Hundred and One Dalmatians. For the 1980s post-punk band, see Cruella de Ville.
Cruella de Vil
Cruella de Vil as she appears in Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
First appearanceThe Hundred and One Dalmatians (1956)
Created byDodie Smith
Voiced by
Portrayed by
Other:
In-universe information
Full name
  • Cruella de Vil
  • Cruella Feinberg (Once Upon a Time)
  • Estella von Hellman (birth name, Cruella)
  • Estella Miller (adoptive name, Cruella)
NicknameDevil woman
TitleEvil woman
OccupationSocialite, fashion magnate, Designer
AffiliationDisney villains
Family
  • Unnamed father (deceased)
  • Malevola De Vil (mother; 101 Dalmatians: The Series)
  • Diego De Vil (nephew; Descendants)
  • Hunter de Vil (great-nephew; 101 Dalmatian Street)
  • Baron and Baroness von Hellman (parents; Cruella)
  • Catherine Miller (adoptive mother; Cruella)
Spouse
  • Unnamed husband (in novel and in 1996 BBC Audio production)
  • Mr. Feinberg (husband; Once Upon a Time)
  • Lord Jack Shortbottom (husband; Evil Thing)
ChildrenCarlos de Vil (son; Descendants)
NationalityBritish

Cruella de Vil[a] 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,[b] 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.

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 cultural icon and a famous symbol of greed, vanity, evil and cruelty to animals.[1] Disney's Cruella ranked 39th on AFI's list "100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains".[2]


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  1. ^ Baldassare, Michael A. 1999. "Cruella de Vil, Hades, and Ursula the Sea-Witch: How Disney Films Teach Our Children the Basics of Contract Law." Drake Law Review 48(2).
  2. ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains" (PDF). American Film Institute. 2005. Retrieved 29 August 2020.