Mary Blair was born in 1911 in Oklahoma and knew from a young age that she wanted to be an illustrator. She took art lessons and entered competitions to improve her skills. Blair was originally hired by Walt Disney as a sketch artist but was let go because her unique style did not fit with other Disney artists at the time. However, after three months Disney wanted to incorporate more color and dramatic images into his films, so he rehired Blair as a lead artist. She went on to work on popular Disney movies like Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland. Blair was also the creative lead on the "It's a Small World" ride at Disney World in Florida.