AMY SMEED, Head of Animation, began her professional career at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1998 as an assistant in the scene set-up department on the production of “Dinosaur.” She became an animator in 2004 on “Chicken Little.” Since then, she has served as head of animation on “Moana,” “Raya and the Last Dragon,” and “Strange World.” She also animated on features such as “Meet the Robinsons,” “Bolt,” “Tangled,” “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Frozen,” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet.”

Smeed’s animation of Rapunzel for “Tangled” earned her a VES Award nomination for outstanding animated character in an animated motion picture. Her other Disney Animation credits include work on the theme park attraction “Mickey’s Philharmagic” and the award-winning “Prep & Landing” TV specials.

Born and raised in Royal Oak, Michigan, Smeed attended Western Michigan University for three years before receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1997. Her dreams of becoming a painter and animator led her to pursue work in the animation industry and to her current role leading a team of animators at Disney Animation.

At Disney, she has collaborated with her husband, Tony Smeed, who served as animation supervisor for “Zootopia” and head of animation on “Frozen 2.” The couple met during the production of “Dinosaur” and have a daughter.