Betty Lou Gerson

Betty Lou Gerson was born on April 20, 1914. She was an American film, television, and voice actress. She provided the voice of the villain Cruella de Vil in the Disney animated film 101 Dalmatians.

Gerson was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but was raised in Birmingham, Alabama, where her father was an executive at a steel company. She was Jewish. She was educated at private institutions in Birmingham and Miami, Florida. At age 16, Gerson moved with her family to Chicago, Illinois, where she began providing her voice on the radio show The First Nighter Program. She later moved to New York City.

She began working in radio dramas in 1935, where she gained notoriety. She moved to Los Angeles in the 1940s, where she worked on radio dramas such as The Whistler, I Love Adventure, Mr. President, Crime Classics, Escape, and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.

She was the narrator of Walt Disney's 1950 film Cinderella. Eleven years later, she provided the voice of the villain Cruella de Vil in the animated film 101 Dalmatians, also from Disney. Her few film appearances include films such as The Fly (1958), The Miracle on the Hills (1959), and Mary Poppins (1964). On television, she had small roles in the series Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), The Dick Van Dyke Show, Hazel, and The Rifleman.

Gerson retired from acting in 1966. She briefly returned in 1997 as a voice actress in the film Cats Don't Dance. On January 12, 1999, she died of a stroke at the age of 84. Her remains were cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.