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Pat Carroll, the actress behind The Little Mermaid‘s Ursula, has died. She was 95.
Carroll’s daughter Kerry Karsian confirmed her death to The Hollywood Reporter, sharing that the Emmy Award-winning actress died Saturday (July 30) at home in Cape Cod, Mass. Her cause of death was stated as pneumonia, according to Karsian.
Her death was also confirmed by her daughter Tara Karsian, who posted a tribute to her mom on Instagram, per the Associated Press.
Tara shared that she hoped people would honor Carroll “by having a raucous laugh at absolutely anything today (and everyday forward) because besides her brilliant talent and love, she leaves my sister Kerry and I with the greatest gift of all, imbuing us with humor and the ability to laugh…even in the saddest of times.”
Carroll was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and later moved to Los Angeles with her family. Her acting career began in 1948, when she booked her first film role with Hometown Girl, per the AP. She went on to appear in multiple television series, including The Mickey Rooney Show and The Carol Burnett Show, as well as Caesar’s Hour, which earned her an Emmy Award.
Some of Carroll’s other credits include Laverne & Shirley, Busting Loose, The Love Boat and Galaxy High School. She also appeared in the 1965 TV movie Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella as evil stepsister Prunella. Carroll would go on to play another villainous role in The Little Mermaid, the 1989 animated hit in which she voiced sea witch Ursula.
Carroll reprised her Ursula role multiple times, voicing the character for multiple video games, a TV short, The Little Mermaid II and House of Mouse. As recently as 2020, Carroll voiced Ursula for Disney+’s The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse.
Carroll is survived by her daughters Kerry and Tara and a granddaughter, according to THR.
