The Boop Heard Round the World
Quinta Brunson steps into the iconic flapper shoes, uncovering the forgotten legacy of Baby Esther.
Quinta Brunson and the animated icon she's bringing back to life.
A New Era for a Century-Old Icon
Quinta Brunson — the Emmy-winning creator of Abbott Elementary — is set to develop and star as Betty Boop in a major feature film. Partnering with Mark Fleischer (grandson of original creator Max Fleischer), the film will explore the complicated relationship between the artist and his creation. But beneath this Hollywood revival lies a hidden history: the story of Esther "Baby Esther" Jones, the Black child performer whose voice and mannerisms truly inspired the Boop.
The real "Baby Esther" Jones — the original Betty Boop.
🎤 The Original Betty Boop
Created August 9, 1930 — Inspired by a Black child star named Esther Jones.
Who was Betty Boop before the cartoon? A Black woman named Esther Jones. A child singer and dancer from Chicago, her signature "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" and playful stage antics directly inspired animators Max Fleischer and Grim Natwick. Yet Baby Esther remained uncredited, unpaid, and nearly erased from history.
Born in 1919 in Chicago, Illinois, Esther was a natural performer who hit the stage at age 4. Her funny faces and her famous catchphrase "Boop Boop-a-Boop" had all of New York in a chokehold. By 1924, Lou Bolton became her manager, helping increase her profile. At age 7, she started going by "Baby Esther" and performed regularly at the Everglades nightclub in New York City.
The White Copycat: Helen Kane
In the 1920s, it was common for white performers to steal acts from Black artists without credit or compensation. Helen Kane was the white singer who took Esther Jones' act — and became far more famous.
Kane's style was so closely imitated by Betty Boop when the cartoon debuted in the 1930s that Kane felt betrayed. Just two years after the cartoon vixen made her big-screen debut, Kane sued Max Fleischer for $250,000 — without a hint of irony or self-awareness. She claimed the "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" was hers, even though audiences and insiders knew it belonged to Baby Esther.
▪ Kane lost the case. But Baby Esther still received nothing.
The Irony
"Helen Kane sued for theft — while erasing the Black teenager she stole from."
Kane vs. Fleischer (1932) became a landmark case, but justice never reached Esther's family.
No Justice for Baby Esther
After the famed Betty Boop trial, not much is known about Esther Jones's life or death. Some sources say she died in 1984 due to complications from a drug overdose. Others — like Essence — report she passed away soon after the trial ended. Whatever the truth, her story remains hidden. Despite being the inspiration for one of the most popular cartoons of the 20th and 21st centuries, neither Esther nor her family ever received a single dollar in royalties or credit.
The jazz vocalist Little Esther Phillips is often confused with Baby Esther. But the real "first Betty Boop" remains a mystery — a footnote in animation history, despite shaping its first independent female superstar.
What Quinta's Film Could Mean
Brunson's partnership with Fleischer Studios offers a rare opportunity: to finally tell the full origin story. The film is expected to examine the pressures Max Fleischer faced — and potentially shine light on the real women, like Baby Esther, who made Betty possible.
🎬 The Bottom Line: Betty Boop is getting a 21st-century revival with one of TV's sharpest creators at the helm. But as the world watches Quinta bring the flapper back, we must also remember the 7-year-old Black girl in Chicago who said "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" first. Her name was Esther Jones. And she deserved better.
1919
BABY ESTHER BORN
1928
HER "BOOP" GOES VIRAL
1930
BETTY BOOP DEBUTS
2026
QUINTA'S BOOP FILM
"Betty Boop is getting a 21st-century revival. But we must also remember the 7-year-old Black girl in Chicago who said 'Boop-Boop-a-Doop' first. Her name was Esther Jones. And she deserved better."
© 2026 Sieair Magazine — The Boop Heard Round the World
📸 Image Credits: Bustle, Business Today, B1 Clothing Co.