<P> Belle is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Pictures ' animated feature film Beauty and the Beast ( 1991 ) . Originally voiced by American actress and singer Paige O'Hara , Belle is the non-conforming daughter of an inventor who yearns to abandon her predictable village life in return for adventure . When her father Maurice is imprisoned by a cold - hearted beast , Belle offers him her own freedom in exchange for her father 's , and eventually learns to love the Beast despite his unsightly outward appearance . </P>
who talks for belle in beauty and the beast
Paige O'Hara