Walt Disney is famous around the world for bringing timeless animated characters to life and creating a global entertainment empire.

Born in Chicago in 1901, Walter Elias Disney spent much of his childhood in Marceline, Missouri, which greatly inspired his later works. He attended McKinley High School in Chicago and took night classes at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, showing an early passion for drawing.

His major achievements began in 1928 with the creation of Mickey Mouse, followed by groundbreaking animated feature films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the world's first full-length animated feature. He was a very successful film-maker who won 26 Academy Awards throughout his career. Apart from making films, he was also famous for pioneering the modern theme park experience with the opening of Disneyland in 1955.

He had three brothers and one sister, and later had two daughters, Diane and Sharon, with his wife Lillian. Walt Disney died in 1966, but The Walt Disney Studios continues to be one of the most successful and enduring companies in the world, carrying on his legacy of imagination and innovation.