‘The Little Mermaid’ Star Halle Bailey Drops Gems That Mentor Beyonce Has Taught Her

Halle Bailey credits Beyonce as an essential part of her bustling career.

The actress, who is also one-half of singing duo Chloe X Halle, is beginning to see her star shine even brighter. The Grown-ish star is gearing up for her role as Ariel in Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid and is also working on music with her sister, Chloe.

The multihyphenated star spoke to E! News while attending Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood event. Halle said during the interview that her mentor, Beyonce, allows both she and her sister to chase their dreams and be their authentic selves.

“One thing that we love about Beyoncé is that she always gives us the space to grow on our own and to accomplish things on our own and fly with our own wings,” Halle said. “We love her inside and out.”

Halle also said that since it was announced in July that she will be playing the lead role in the Disney classic, she feels “really grateful” and “really blessed” to get started on her first feature film. She also said that she will begin filming for The Little Mermaid in January 2020.

Once news spread that the “Happy Without Me” singer was playing Ariel, Halle was subjected a plethora of opinions online. While many of the comments were positive, she faced multiple criticisms because she doesn’t have the same features as the 1989 Disney cartoon. The actress then received support from multiple celebrities like Zendaya, Keke Palmer, Halle Berry and Mariah Carey.

Entertainment Tonight reported that Jodi Benson, who played the voice of Ariel in the Disney cartoon version, also spoke in favor of Halle playing the role. Benson said that the most important part of the role is to be able to tell a story that will resonate with the audience.

“We need to be storytellers,” she said. “And no matter what we look like on the outside, no matter our race, our nation, the color of our skin, our dialect, whether I’m tall or thin, whether I’m overweight or underweight, or my hair is whatever color, we really need to tell the story.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Beyonce found Chloe x Halle on their YouTube channel back in 2013. The duo was singing a cover of the Grammy winner’s song “Pretty Hurts” and Beyonce soon signed the two to Parkwood Entertainment. Since then, the sisters have opened for Beyonce’s European leg of her 2016 Formation World Tour. The duo also made appearances on Beyonce’s Lemonade visual album.