<P> Bird described Edna's voice as a combination of a Japanese and German accent, deciding to draw influence from these countries because "they're two small countries that have amazing design and amazing technology", citing cameras and cars of examples of technology in which they specialize . Urban Cinefile's Louise Keller described the character's voice as "mid European...complicated by an Asian touch". Although Bird's performance is considerably broad, he avoids allowing Edna to become too much of a caricature in order to maintain the illusion that she is one of the film's smartest characters . In the Italian and French - language versions of the film, Bird's comic accent is replaced by that of French - Italian entertainer Amanda Lear, who offers a more seductive, "biting" interpretation . Lear said that dubbing Edna's voice was not an easy process, but accepted the job after being offered the role upon seeing the film at the Cannes Film Festival in order to fulfill her dream of having always wanted to voice a Disney character . Edna was the first character Lear was hired to dub in Italian . </P> <P> Bird believes that he shares some of Edna's personality traits, specifically the way in which he prefers to be involved in virtually every creative aspect of his projects, including story boarding, writing and cinematography, admitting that he and his character demonstrate both a high level of self - confidence and lack of self - doubt when it comes to their own work . Bird elaborated that "At my most confident, I feel like her...She is absolutely convinced that her way is the right way, and if you disagree...you're just wrong!" Bird identified Edna as one of the film's most difficult characters to design . The character went through several different changes in appearance during the development process, ranging from taller and overweight to older, younger and thinner . Inspired by the large impact that countries such as Japan and Germany have on the world despite being comparatively small in size, Bird decided that Edna would demonstrate this theme by being "a tiny character that dominates the room when she gets into it ." Her home, which uses high - end technology similar to what she incorporates into the outfits she creates, was deliberately designed to be significantly larger than she is to further emphasize this theme of dominance . Edna's small stature was also inspired by singer Bette Midler, of whom Bird has always been a fan . The director recalled being surprised by Midler's height when he first met her "Because...she absolutely dominates the screen . And it just struck me how much personality was in this small body ." In terms of animation, Bird wanted all of the film's characters to move differently from each other, providing Edna with a very confident walk to represent the fact that she has "never experienced doubt in her life ." The animators found the fact that Bird provided the character's voice himself to be very helpful as he would often act out the way in which the character acts and behaves himself, which helped in further defining the animator's vision of Edna . According to Bird, Edna, despite her petite stature, is the only non-superhero in The Incredibles capable of making superheroes feel uncomfortable . Bird described Edna as a character who is "not remotely intimidated by superheroes or anyone", refusing to accept the word "no" when it is used in opposition of her opinions or beliefs . </P> <P> Describing Edna's physical attributes as "severe", Bird had envisioned the character having glasses and a pageboy haircut, while still wanting her to appear modern and elegant at the same time . Edna's ethnicity has been identified as half - German and half - Japanese . Both Edna's physical appearance and voice are widely believed to have based on those of costume designer Edith Head, with whom she shares her signature round glasses and black bob cut . According to Head's entry in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the character is inspired by both the costume designer's signature glasses and "forthright personality". Bird described Edna as a combination of both Head and Q, a character featured in the James Bond franchise . The director has generally declined to confirm any direct influences on the character, insisting that Edna is "not based on a specific person", including publicly refuting claims that he based the character on Head, although she continues to be considered the character's "most legitimate" alleged inspiration . However, animator Teddy Newton, who co-designed Edna with Bird, revealed that he and Pixar were inspired by the film Unzipped (1995), a documentary depicting the petulance of fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and stylist Polly Allen Mellen . Fans have long speculated about the real - life inspiration behind Edna's design and appearance . Bird stated he has constantly been told by various fans and viewers that the character reminds them of at least 15 different celebrities since the character debuted in The Incredibles . Contributing to Fashion, Erin Dunlop described the character as "a supercharged hybrid of every fashion industry legend we can think of". In an article discussing who Edna is based on, Entertainment Weekly's Steve Daly cited Vogue editor - in - chief Anna Wintour, designer Coco Chanel and actress Lotte Lenya as possible influences, while drawing similarities between the character's use of large - framed glasses to architect Philip Johnson, producer Robert Evans, talent agent Swifty Lazar, studio executive Lew Wasserman, and fashion editor Carrie Donovan . Some critics have suspected that the character is also based on Mary Quant and Una Jones . Acknowledging that there are several female fashion designers who wear glasses upon whom Edna could have been based, Bird admitted that the character was inspired by author Patricia Highsmith and actress Linda Hunt, elaborating: "When you're designing a character, you're just saying - who is that?...We tried a lot of stuff and we kept saying no, no, more like this, but I like the nose on this one, and maybe the pageboy cut, maybe glasses should be bigger...and you end up with something that reminds you of Edith Head and Linda Hunt ." </P> <P> For the sequel, shading art director Bryn Imagire decided to incorporate more of Edna's Japanese heritage into her two new costumes, basing them on the work of Japanese costume designers Rei Kawakubo, Eiko Ishioka and Chitose Abe . Imagire was particularly inspired by Kawakubo's quote, "For something to be beautiful, it doesn't have to be pretty," and opting to envision Edna's outfits "more as abstract sculpture" as opposed to forms of clothing . In order to design costumes for a fictional character who also happens to be a designer in her own film, Imagire drew upon lessons she had learned while attending art school, describing Edna's style as "very to the point and very specific" while imagining what the character might be thinking while designing her clothes . Meanwhile, character artist Deanna Marsigliese's first assignment was to create an entire line of clothing designed by Edna, for which she was tasked with "thinking like Edna". Although ultimately the completed clothing line does not appear in the final film, Marsigliese considered the experience to be "a study in (Edna's) character" nonetheless, during which she drew inspiration from Edna's appearance and wardrobe in the first film, from her dress to the interior of her house . Although she was aware that Edna enjoys being dramatic, she acknowledge that "fashion designers don't necessarily design things that they would wear on their person, they design for their models", meaning, "Their aesthetic is oftentimes different ." Similarly, Imagire agreed that fashion designers such as Kawakubo, Ishioka and Abe "always looked really comfortable in contrast to what they were creating for their models", a contrast that she wanted to incorporate into the character . Recalling that Edna dislikes models, the artist envisioned that the character would instead design her own clothing to serve as "a vehicle to celebrate superheroes and her powers ." Inspired by Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, Marsigliese created a "classic, mid-century inspired silhouette" for Edna's costumes that were also bold and dramatic as though Edna herself had designed them, then rearranging the designs to ultimately give them a more surreal, specific appearance . Dubbing the character a "woman of the now", Marsigliese explained that, like Schiaparelli, Edna is "completely ahead of her time" despite living in the 1950s; "she used a lot of surrealist elements, a lot of fun surprises, and that was very inspiring for me ." Imagire designed approximately 25 potential costumes for Edna, 15 of which she showed to Bird before the final two were decided upon: a simple indigo dress and black - and - red kimono . </P>

Was edna from the incredibles based on linda hunt