Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created by Carl Barks for The Walt Disney Company. She is an anthropomorphic white duck that has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. She is often seen wearing a hair bow, blouse and heeled shoes. The girlfriend of Donald Duck, Daisy was introduced in the short film Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940) and was incorporated into Donald's comic stories several months later. Carl Barks, the screenwriter and lead storyboard artist for the film, was inspired by the 1937 short, Don Donald, that featured a Latin character named Donna Duck, to revive the concept of a female counterpart for Donald.
Daisy appeared in 11 short films between 1940 and 1954, and far later in Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) and Fantasia 2000 (1999). In these roles, Daisy was always a supporting character, with the exception of Donald's Dilemma (1947). Daisy has received considerably more screen time in television, making regular appearances in Quack Pack (1996), Mickey Mouse Works (1999–2000), House of Mouse (2001–2003), Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006–2016), Mickey Mouse (2013–2019), Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures (2017–2021), The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse (2020–2023), Mickey Mouse Funhouse (2021–2025) and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ (2025–present). Daisy has also appeared in several direct-to-video films such as Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas (1999), The Three Musketeers (2004) and Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas (2004).
Daisy is a close friend of Clarabelle Cow and Clara Cluck in the comics and Minnie Mouse's best friend.Daisy Visits Minnie . The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts . Retrieved March 17, 2008. Daisy usually shows a strong affinity towards Donald, although she is often characterized as being more sophisticated than him. Particularly in the comics, because of this, Daisy regularly becomes frustrated with Donald's immaturity, and on those occasions she will often go out on dates with Donald's cousin and rival Gladstone Gander instead. Daisy is the aunt of April, May, and June, three young girl ducks who bear resemblance to Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
Characterization Since her early appearances, Daisy is attracted to Donald and devoted to him in the same way he is often devoted to her. This is most clearly seen in Donald's Dilemma as Daisy is almost to the point of suicide after Donald forgets her. Despite this, she is shown to have her boyfriend wrapped around her finger and is often shown to keep him in line whenever his anger starts to boil.
Besides her love for Donald, Daisy is also shown to be more sophisticated and intelligent than him. This causes her to frequently be frustrated with his immaturity, and their relationship occasionally has an off-again, on-again nature as a result, particularly in the comic books. In comics, when Daisy is fighting with Donald or temporarily breaks up with him, she goes on dates with Donald's cousin Gladstone Gander instead. In Cured Duck, Daisy even gives Donald an ultimatum regarding his temper but later reforms in Donald's Dilemma. Daisy herself sometimes exhibits a temper, but she has much greater self-control than Donald.
In the Mouse Works/House of Mouse cartoons, she was sometimes portrayed as intrusive and overly talkative. She would invite herself in without asking and would tag along on trips where she was not wanted. In House of Mouse, Daisy was often waiting for her ″Big Break″, taking any and every opportunity to perform a number of talent acts on stage. Daisy was separated from Donald in that her quest for fame was not as prominent, and relied less on jealousy than eagerness.
Appearance Daisy is a white duck with an orange beak and legs. She usually has indigo eyeshadow, long distinct eyelashes and ruffled feathers around her lowest region to suggest a skirt. Like Donald, she typically doesn't wear pants, although she sometimes wears an actual skirt or longer dresses and clothes to cover her bottom.
She is usually seen sporting a blouse with puffed short sleeves and a v-neckline. She also wears a matching bow, heeled shoes and a single bangle on her wrist. The colors of her clothes change very often, but her signature colors are usually purple and pink.
The creators of the television series Quack Pack, in keeping with their modernization theme, reworked Daisy's character into a career-oriented woman and thus gave her a different appearance to match. While keeping with the purple and pink motif, Daisy usually wore long dresses with high-heeled shoes and instead of wearing her trademark hair bow, the feathers atop her head got the same treatment as her tail feathers had before; the animators arranged them in such a manner to appear as if Daisy was sporting a more modern short hairstyle.
House of Mouse got her a blue and purple employee uniform, with a blue bow, earrings, and a long ponytail. In Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Daisy regained her purple blouse with a purple bow and shoes. She also wears a gold bangle and has a short ponytail, similar to the longer one seen in House of Mouse.Disney's House of Mouse . The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts . Retrieved March 17, 2008.
Voice Daisy Duck has been voiced by several different voice actors over the years. By far the most extensive work has been done by Tress MacNeille, who took on the role in 1999.
Clarence Nash voiced Daisy in her debut in Mr. Duck Steps Out. In the short, Nash voiced Daisy in a similar "duck-like" voice as Donald's. Starting with Donald's Crime (1945), Ruth Clifford took over vocal duties on the character, giving her a more "normal" female human voice. Clifford would voice Daisy in a further three shorts between 1945 and 1947, with her last being Sleepy Time Donald (1947). Gloria Blondell would take over the role briefly in Donald's Dilemma (1947). Clifford returned to the role starting in Donald's Dream Voice (1948) and Crazy Over Daisy (1950). Vivi Janiss voiced the character in Donald's Diary (1954), while renowned voice actress June Foray (Rocky the Flying Squirrel) voiced her in her final classic shorts appearance, the educational Donald Duck short How to Have an Accident at Work (1959).
Voice actress Janet Waldo, best known as the voice of Judy Jetson, voiced Daisy in the Disneyland Records album An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players (1974).
In 1983, Daisy was voiced by Patricia Parris in Mickey's Christmas Carol. Tony Anselmo voiced Daisy in Down and Out with Donald Duck (1987). Daisy was then voiced by Kath Soucie throughout her first regular television series Quack Pack (1996). From 1989 to 1999, Daisy was voiced by Diane Michelle in the anthology film The Spirit of Mickey, the first season of Mickey Mouse Works, and other media and games at the time. Michelle alternated in the role with Tress MacNeille for Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. In 1999, MacNeille took over as Daisy's full-time voice starting with the second season of Mickey Mouse Works. MacNeille has voiced Daisy in the television series House of Mouse, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures, Legend of the Three Caballeros, DuckTales, and The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse. MacNeille has also voiced Daisy in television specials, movies, and video games. Daisy was voiced by Russi Taylor in Fantasia 2000, although she has no lines other than a scream. In the second season of Mickey Mouse Funhouse, MacNeille was replaced by Debra Wilson as MacNeille was caught up in other projects. Wilson, the first (and so far only) African-American performer of Daisy, also voiced the character in the television specials Mickey Saves Christmas and Mickey and Friends Trick or Treats. MacNeille returned to voice Daisy in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+.
Donna Duck Donna Duck made her sole animated appearance in the short film Don Donald (1937), directed by Ben Sharpsteen. It was the first installment of the Donald Duck film series and was also the first time Donald was shown with a love interest. In the story, Donald travels to Mexico to court a duck who is largely a female version of himself. She is portrayed with the same feisty temperament and as such was also voiced by Clarence Nash. At the end of the story, she spitefully abandons Donald in the desert after his car breaks down.
While Donna was not reused in film after her only appearance, she became an inspiration for the creation of Daisy. Donna appeared in early British Disney comics and was introduced in the American comic strip in 1951, as Daisy's unwitting rival for Donald's affections.
Other Disney characters, such as Goofy, were introduced under various names (Dippy Dawg) and appearances, leading some historians to conclude that Donna and Daisy are the same character. However, in these other instances, changes usually developed over time, during which the character remained in use. Donna, on the other hand, appeared only once, and it was a few years before a new female love interest for Donald was designed. There were many significant differences between the two characters all-at-once, in personality, nationality, name and attire.
According to The Encyclopedia of Animated Disney ShortsDaisy Duck at The Encyclopedia of Animated Disney Shorts and the Big Cartoon DataBase, at the Big Cartoon DataBase Don Donald is considered Daisy's debut. Don Donald is included on the Disney-produced DVD Best Pals: Donald and Daisy. In 1999, The Walt Disney Company released a collector's pin as part of their Countdown to the Millennium pin series, which reads "Daisy Duck debuts as Donna Duck 1937".
History Daisy debuted in theatrical animation and has appeared in a total of 15 films.The total does not account for Don Donald or A Good Time for a Dime (1941), which features a Daisy Duck look-alike. She appeared in 12 Donald Duck short films. These are, in order of release, Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940), Donald's Crime (1945), Cured Duck (1945), Donald's Double Trouble (1946), Dumb Bell of the Yukon, Sleepy Time Donald (1947), Donald's Dilemma, Donald's Dream Voice (1948), Crazy Over Daisy (1950), Donald's Diary (1954) & How to Have an Accident at Work (1959) as Donald's unnamed wife. She also made a brief cameo in the Mickey Mouse short film The Nifty Nineties (1941). After the classic shorts era, Daisy appeared in Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) and Fantasia 2000 (1999) with another cameo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
First appearance
Daisy Duck in her familiar name and design first appeared in Mr. Duck Steps Out (June 7, 1940). The short was directed by Jack King and scripted by Carl Barks. There Donald visits the house of his new romantic interest for their first known date. At first, Daisy acts shy and has her back turned to her visitor. But Donald soon notices her tail-feathers taking the form of a hand and signaling for him to come closer. But their time alone is soon interrupted by Huey, Dewey, and Louie who have followed their uncle and clearly compete with him for the attention of Daisy. Uncle and nephews take turns dancing the jitterbug with her while trying to get rid of each other. In their final effort, the three younger Ducks feed their uncle maize (corn) in the process of becoming popcorn. The process is completed within Donald himself who continues to move spastically around the house while maintaining the appearance of dancing. The short ends with an impressed Daisy showering her new boyfriend with kisses. Like her precursor, she was initially voiced by Clarence Nash, but later had a more ladylike voice.
The short stands out among other Donald shorts of the period for its use of modern music and surreal situations throughout.
Disney shorts: 1941–1947 One year following her introduction in Mr. Duck Steps Out, Daisy, along with Donald and the nephews, made a brief cameo in the Mickey Mouse short The Nifty Nineties, cementing her position as a recurring character.