Cruella de Vil is a fictional character in British author Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. A pampered and glamorous London heiress, she appears in Walt Disney Productions’ 17th animated feature film, 101 Dalmatians (1961), voiced by Betty Lou Gerson; in Disney’s 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure (2002), voiced by Susanne Blakeslee; in Disney’s live-action 101 Dalmatians (1996) and 102 Dalmatians (2000), portrayed by Glenn Close; in the spin-off prequel movie Cruella (2021), portrayed by Emma Stone; and in many other Disney-produced sequels and spin-offs.
In all her incarnations, Cruella kidnaps 97 or 99 Dalmatian puppies for their fur. In the live-action Disney film, it is revealed that the reason Cruella chooses to skin puppies is that when short-haired dogs grow older, their fur becomes very coarse, which does not sell as well in the fur fashion industry as the fine, soft fur of puppies. [More info]
