5 Best Disney Princesses with Brown Hair You’ll Love

When you think about Disney princesses with brown hair, it might surprise you to know that there aren’t quite as many as you would initially think.  Still, let’s walk down memory lane together and see if we can compile a healthy list of all of the noteworthy brunette Disney princesses!

Disney Princesses with Brown Hair

Belle, Princess Elena of Avalor, Princess Leia Organa, Moana, and Princess Sofia Cordova are the top Disney princesses that have brown hair.

Belle

The first Disney princess with brown hair on our list just happens to be the first animated Disney princess ever to be depicted with brown hair! 

Belle, from “Beauty and the Beast”, has medium brown hair that she usually wears in an attractive yet practical low ponytail. Throughout the film, she is seen tucking stray wisps of hair back from her face. (I think every woman with long hair can relate to that habit!) It’s a very realistic and endearing gesture.

Belle is intelligent, clever, and an independent thinker. Her love of books and learning has earned her the reputation of being “strange” in her village. She’s also quite beautiful and kind to everyone. Another unique quality of Belle is that she doesn’t seem aware or concerned about how very beautiful she is. Of course, her natural loveliness attracts the unwanted attention of Gaston, an arrogant bully who is determined to marry her.

Belle’s kindness and selflessness are perhaps her most outstanding traits. Even when Gaston is trying to “convince” her to marry him, she manages to rebuff his proposal without seeming rude. When the beast is acting absolutely “beastly” towards her, she treats him with compassion and friendship when he is injured.

Even though she is kind, Belle is certainly no pushover! She’s as courageous as she is soft-hearted. She fiercely argues with the Beast as well as Gaston when they try to tell her to do something she doesn’t want to do. Her willingness to stay at the Beast’s castle in order to save her father shows her selfless nature as well as her bravery. 

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Princess Elena of Avalor

Elena of Avalor is a television series that premiered on Disney Channel in 2016 and then was moved to Disney Junior Channel in 2018. Princess Elena Castillo Flores is the main character. She is the teenage heir of King Raul and Queen Lucia; rulers of the magical kingdom of Avalor. 

She is a confident, natural leader but spends time throughout the series learning to be a good monarch with the assistance of her Grand Council. The members of the Grand Council are there to advise her until she becomes an adult and can be crowned the Queen.

Elena is 16 years old, with tan/olive skin and long dark brown wavy hair. Her hair is usually tied back in a ponytail. She usually wears dresses in some shade of red, accented with gold jewelry. 

Although the well-being of her kingdom’s subjects and her loved ones is important to Elena, she can be resistant to other people giving her advice. (What teenage girl isn’t?!) She’s intelligent enough though to eventually realize that she needs guidance before ascending to the throne as Queen.

She values loyalty and is determined to keep promises no matter what. She worries about disappointing others to the point that it can be overwhelming for her.

Princess Elena exists in the same fantasy world as another brown-haired Princess: Princess Sophia. In fact, Princess Sophia is the one who rescues Elena from being imprisoned in a magic amulet after 41 long years. 

Because Elena was trapped in the magic amulet for so long, she is technically the second oldest Disney princess with an age of 57 years old (Kida from “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” is several thousand years old). However, Elena’s biological age stayed at 16 until she was released. While she was in the amulet, she absorbed some magical abilities, such as seeing and summoning spirits.

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Princess Leia Organa

Yes,  I’m including a Star Wars character in this list of brave and beautiful Disney princesses with brown hair. Let me briefly explain why before getting into what a wonderful character Princess Leia is. Since Star Wars became part of the Disney universe, Leia has been included as a character you can meet in Hollywood Studios during Star Wars weekends in May and June. 

During these weekends, you’ll also see Minnie Mouse dressed as Leia (as well as other Disney characters dressed in Star Wars costumes). Leia is seen in the Star Tours ride, and of course, there is a lot of Princess Leia merchandise available to purchase. She is also a playable character in the Disney Infinity video game, alongside other Star Wars and Disney characters. 

With her having such a prominent presence in the parks and Disney entertainment, how could we have a list of brown-haired Princesses without her?

Princess Leia has long shiny brown hair that she wears in a variety of styles throughout the Star Wars saga. But it’s the famous “space buns” hairdo that has become iconic with this character. Two thick, twisted buns on either side of her head like oversized earmuffs will forever be synonymous with this character.

There is so much more to Leia Organa than her memorable hairstyle! She’s a Princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Galactic Senate, a rebel spy, a resistance fighter, a Jedi Palawan (although she decided not to finish her training), and ultimately, a General of the Resistance.

The first appearance of Princess Leia is as a hologram, asking Obi Wan Kenobi for help as she is about to be taken prisoner. While in the custody of Darth Vader, her brave and sassy spirit becomes evident as she resists revealing the location of the rebel base.

She soon proves that she is no “damsel in distress” type of princess, and shows her skill with shooting a blaster as well as strategic knowledge.  Throughout the Star Wars saga, she demonstrates not only her combat skills, but also her ability to lead others with compassion and courage.

Like her twin brother Luke, Leia is a “force user” with very strong connections to the Force. She even trained as a Jedi for a while under Luke’s guidance. However, she ultimately made the decision to end her training. 

Despite being raised on the pacifist planet of Alderaan, she’s proven herself in combat many times. Her commitment to defeating the Empire is unwavering, and she shows a great deal of wisdom and reliability. Witnessing the destruction of her home planet while in Darth Vader’s custody only strengthens her determination to rid the galaxy of tyranny. 

Instead of letting thoughts of revenge motivate her actions (which might have driven her to the dark side of the Force), she is consistently driven by compassion for the victims of the Empire’s oppression. 

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Princess Sofia Cordova

Sofia The First was a computer-animated children’s show on Disney Junior. It follows the story of a young girl named Sofia, who lives in the fictional kingdom of Enchancia with her widowed mother. Sofia’s mother and King Roland of Enchancia fall in love and get married, making little Sofia a princess.

Sofia is a friendly, energetic little girl with fair skin and medium brown hair. She always tries her best to do what is right and finds that being a princess is about a lot more than fancy dresses and living in a castle. The stories focus on Sofia learning about values such as courage, generosity, loyalty, and honesty.

Each episode of the series focuses on Sofia’s efforts to learn how to be a proper princess, as well as bonding with her new family. King Roland gives Sofia the gift of a magic amulet, which blesses her for good deeds and gives mild “curses” for wrongdoings. The amulet also “links all Princesses that ever were”, and eventually Sofia is able to release Princess Elena of Avalor from her long imprisonment in the amulet.

The series received a lot of critical praise for showing positive portrayals of a blended family. This is a departure from the “usual” fairy tale depictions that show step-siblings and/or step-parents in a negative manner. 

Moana

It’s a little hard to determine if Moana has black or dark brown hair. Online descriptions will tell you either of those colors (depending on the website), and there seems to be an ongoing debate on the matter. The best way I thought to address the question was to watch the movie again. 

Although her hair is very dark, there are several scenes where the sunlight shines on her and it clearly looks (to my eyes) like her hair is dark brown, so Moana makes the list as one of the lovely brown-haired princesses! 

Whether you see her hair as black or dark brown, Moana has long, thick, wavy hair that she usually wears loose. Moana of Motunui is the teenage daughter of Chief Tai and Sina. As the daughter of the   Chief, she is expected to one day become the leader of her Polynesian island home.

She’s loyal to her people, but also feels a need to leave the island and explore the world. As a toddler, Moana was magically “chosen” by the ocean, and the waters consciously help her when she is in need.

Moana’s story is one of finding her own place in the world, while also fulfilling her responsibility to her people. When their island home begins to lose its food sources, it becomes apparent to Moana that she needs to find a way to improve their future. She stands between a connection to the past (her relationship with her Grandmother and her interest in her people’s history), and a way into the future (finding a better home and exploring the world).

Moana loves her people and feels a sense of responsibility towards them, but she also wants to be her own person. She is confident, but also a little rash in her judgment. When she sets sail alone to search for a better home, it quickly becomes apparent that she is not as skilled in sailing as she thought she was.

After meeting the demi-god Maui, she is taught wayfinding (navigation) skills, and she helps Maui to recover his magic fish hook. Cooperation is a strong theme in the movie, as Moana and Maui repeatedly find themselves needing to help each other in dangerous situations.

In the end, it is Moana’s compassion and empathy that help to save her people. She realizes the fearsome lava-demon Te-Ka is actually the Goddess Te Fiti, who is angry and hurt because her heart has been stolen. It is only when Moana sees past the demon’s pain that she is able to heal the Goddess. 

Honorable Mention

I wanted to throw in Rapunzel here in the Honorable Mention section, which I’m sure throws you for a loop! But check out my reasoning below!

Rapunzel

When you think of Rapunzel, you probably think of her extremely long golden hair. So why is she included on a list of Princesses with brown hair? Well, Rapunzel’s hair is only that glowing golden color because of the influence of a magic flower. 

In actuality, her natural hair color is a rich medium brown. In fact, when Rapunzel cuts her hair, the natural brown color returns. Technically, Rapunzel could be included on a list of Princesses with brown hair, as well as those with golden hair!

When Rapunzel’s mother, Queen Arianna, was pregnant, she became critically ill and was close to death. It was only because of a magical blossom that she recovered from her illness and gave birth to her beautiful baby girl. 

Unfortunately, the mysterious Mother Gothel had been using those blossoms to keep herself perpetually young. When the last flower had been used to heal the Queen, Mother Gothel kidnapped Rapunzel and locked her away, in order to exploit her magical golden hair’s healing abilities.

In spite of spending her entire life locked away in a tower with Mother Gothel being her only outside human contact, Rapunzel is a bright, determined, and courageous young woman. She continually dreams of one day being able to leave the tower and see the wonders of the world. In the meantime, she spends her years of isolation educating herself and learning creative skills such as cooking and painting.

She’s resilient and independent, and also has a natural ability to make friends. This is evident not only by her being able to convince Flynn Rider to help her escape the tower, but also when she wins over a group of ruffians at The Snuggly Duckling Tavern.

Rapunzel is also quite the heroic Princess, as she was willing to go back to Mother Gothel’s captivity in order to save a dying Flynn. Despite the years of abuse she suffered as a prisoner, Rapunzel’s heart was always loving and compassionate.

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