Adriana Caselotti was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Italian American immigrants. Her father, Guido Caselotti, was an immigrant from Udine, and worked as a teacher of music and a vocal coach. Her mother, Maria Orefice, from Naples, was a singer in the Royal Opera Theatre of Rome. When Caselotti was seven years old, her family left Connecticut for Italy while her mother toured with an opera company. When her family returned to New York three years later, Caselotti relearned English and studied singing with her father.
In 1935, after a brief stint as a chorus girl and session singer at MGM, Walt Disney hired Caselotti as the voice of his heroine Snow White. She was paid a total of $970 for working on the film (equivalent to $17,251 today). She was not credited and had trouble finding new opportunities later in life. Jack Benny specifically mentioned that he had asked Disney for permission to use her on his radio show and was told, “I’m sorry, but that voice can’t be used anywhere. I don’t want to spoil the illusion of Snow White.” Caselotti had two more jobs in the film business. The first was an uncredited role in MGM’s The Wizard of Oz (1939); she provided the voice of Juliet during the Tin Man’s song, “If I Only Had a Heart”, speaking the line, “Wherefore art thou Romeo?”. In 1946, she had an uncredited role in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, singing in Martini’s bar as James Stewart was praying.
Adriana Caselotti appeared in several promotional spots for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, signing memorabilia. On November 22, 1972, she guest-starred on an episode of The Julie Andrews Hour saluting the music of Walt Disney, singing “I’m Wishing” and “Someday My Prince Will Come” with Julie Andrews. Caselotti later wrote a how-to book, “Do You Like to Sing?”.
Later in life, she sold autographs and also made an attempt at an opera career. In the early 1990s, when the Snow White Grotto at Disneyland was refurbished, Caselotti re-recorded “I’m Wishing” for the Snow White Wishing Well at the age of 75. In 1994, she was named a Disney Legend.
On January 18, 1997, Caselotti died of respiratory failure from lung cancer at her Los Angeles home at the age of 80. At the time of her death, she was the last surviving cast member of the 1937 animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Sources: Wiki