After six years of trying to be a TV and film actress, auditions got tiring for Emily Galley, a 23-year-old graduate of the performing arts program at Algonquin College.

Galley’s love for performing started with a Facebook ad to work on a movie with Emma Roberts. A part she never thought she would get.

That was the start of Galley’s love of performing and she began working on movie sets.

But after a while, Galley began to lose steam.

Driving back and forth to Montreal and Toronto left her tired and disappointed that she was not getting the parts she was auditioning for.

Galley always wanted to work as a Disney princess and she got an audition to work at Disneyland in Shanghai, China.

“If I feel this strongly about my abilities to portray a princess in this way, I have to be doing it,” Galley said.

After driving to Toronto for the audition with her mother, Galley quickly realized that she did not want to move to Shanghai.

A short time later, Galley found a job online working for a princess party company in Ottawa and worked with them for about a year before leaving to work as a server and then in retail at Nordstrom.

But something was missing.

“I was sitting there one day I forgot how much I loved going to parties, being with kids, making their dreams come true and having a positive impact on the generation that is coming up,” Galley said.

“It’s something so small, but it is magical to make their dreams come true for that one day.”

In April 2019, Galley started Noble Princess Parties Ottawa.

Galley dresses up as princesses that mimic characters from popular movies like Cinderella and Frozen and superheroes that parody Spider-Man, Batman and Capitan America.

“When you walk in the room, they believe you’re Cinderella or Rapunzel,” Galley said. “They see you in real life, and it is this huge magical moment, you have all that time to make their dreams come true.”

Galley takes her role as a princess seriously, knowing that for the children it is such a special moment.

The best part of being a princess for Galley is having the children run up and hug her. The fun is in the excitement and joy that fills their faces when they see her.

“You are their hero,” said Galley.

It is not about the dress and make-up. It is about becoming the character to a believable extent.

“You are not the real Cinderella, but for them, you are,” said Galley. “And that is so important.”

She stays in character the whole time, taking on the attributes and characteristics of the princess she is playing.

“I was never best anything, but I know I am the best at this, and it makes my heart happy.”