Brandy Norwood broke stereotypes when she starred as Cinderella in Rodger and Hammerstein’s 1997 version of the beloved story.
During a recent interview with Vulture, Brandy spoke about the significance of wearing braids while playing “the first Black princess.”
“You know, I had been wearing braids throughout my entire career when I was younger,” she told the publication, “So that was just my thing. I just absolutely love braids. You can still see they’re still in my hair today. That was what I felt would be so much cooler — if Cinderella also had braids, you know? Because, yes, there’s the first Black princess. That’s amazing. Unbelievable.”
Throughout her career, Brandy’s braids have been a longstanding trademark — but she acknowledges the deeper roots of the traditional hairstyle:
“But what if we just take it all the way back to the motherland. And just go head-on and put the braids right in. I actually wanted the braids all the way down to the middle of my back, but they were like, ‘It’s too long.’ I love that they allowed me to have braids. It was so beautiful. It represents who I am, who Black women are. It speaks to our culture.”
To celebrate the iconic flick being added to the Disney + lineup, Brandy transforms back into the Disney princess for a special TikTok challenge. The video features the song “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo,” aka “The Magic Song,” from Dsiney’s 1950 animated film. It was originally performed by Verna Felton.
Cinderella also starred Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jason Alexander.
