Princess Fiona (Shrek): Who She Is, Who Voices Her and Her Story

Princess Fiona is the female lead of the Shrek saga, first seen in Shrek (2001), directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and voiced by Cameron Diaz in every film that features her. The credits give her name only as Princess Fiona, and the films also call her Fiona, so no longer name exists to quote.

In the first film she is the princess at the end of Lord Farquaad's errand. Farquaad wants to become king by marrying a princess, so he sends the ogre Shrek, with Donkey tagging along, to rescue Fiona from a castle surrounded by lava and guarded by a dragon. Fiona turns out to be disappointed that her rescuer is an ogre, which sets the tone for a relationship that begins in friction.

She appears in four films, in release order: Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007) and Shrek Forever After (2010). The two spin-offs, Puss in Boots (2011) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), do not list her in their cast. If you are choosing a film for a family evening, all four of her films carry a PG rating in the US, and a U in the UK.

For the full line up of voices, see the Shrek cast page, and for the rest of the ensemble, the Shrek characters index.

Fiona's story runs across four films and moves from a rescued princess to a fighter who chooses her own life. What she wants shifts with each film, so her arc is clearest when taken one chapter at a time.

Shrek (2001). Fiona carries a curse that turns her into an ogress every night, and she keeps it hidden during the trip home from the dragon's castle. A night-time remark in which she calls herself an ugly beast is overheard by Shrek, who assumes she is talking about him. He goes cold and hands her over to Farquaad, and she agrees to the marriage. Donkey straightens Shrek out, and the two reach the wedding riding the dragon. At sunset the guests see her as an ogress, the dragon swallows Farquaad, and Shrek's kiss ends the curse in a surprise: Fiona stays in her ogre form.

Shrek 2 (2004). After the honeymoon, an invitation from her parents takes the couple to Far Far Away. Fairy Godmother wants Fiona for her own son, Prince Charming, and the potion called Happily Ever After makes both Shrek and Fiona human. Charming kisses her at the ball, and she answers with a punch. The human form would only have held if a true love's kiss came before midnight, but Fiona picks Shrek as he really is, and the two stay ogres.

Shrek the Third (2007). King Harold's death puts Shrek and Fiona next in line for the throne, and Shrek goes looking for her cousin Artie, the other possible heir. Prince Charming gathers the fairy tale villains and seizes the kingdom, and Fiona is locked up with the other princesses. They get out through the prison wall on their own.

Shrek Forever After (2010). In the timeline where Shrek was never born, Fiona commands a band of ogre rebels and does not remember him. He earns her trust bit by bit, the two fall for each other again, and her kiss at sunrise breaks Rumpelstiltskin's contract.

Fiona's closest relationship is with Shrek, who is her husband from the end of the first film, and the rest of her circle is built around that marriage. Most of the other pairings come from the family she gains or the villains who want to separate the couple.

Shrek. Shrek is Fiona's husband and her closest relationship. Their bond begins in the swamp journey of the first film and survives a potion, a throne and a rewritten timeline. By Shrek the Third, the couple raise their triplets, and Shrek stops fearing fatherhood. See Shrek for his side of it.

Donkey. Donkey is the friend who gets Shrek to the wedding in the first film, and he travels with the couple to Far Far Away in the second. In Shrek 2 the post credit scene shows Dragon, who has married Donkey, arriving with several baby dragon and donkey hybrids, so Dragon is part of the extended family.

King Harold and Queen Lillian. King Harold and Queen Lillian are Fiona's parents, and they rule Far Far Away and are dismayed to learn that their daughter is still an ogre and has married one. Harold is revealed as the Frog Prince who used the same potion years earlier to win Lillian, and he steps in front of a spell aimed at Shrek. Queen Lillian appears in Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After.

Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming. Fairy Godmother wants Fiona to marry her son, and Prince Charming later returns for revenge and captures Fiona and the other princesses.

Others. Lord Farquaad (profile) is the first suitor who wants to marry her to become king. Fiona's cousin Artie becomes king in Shrek the Third. In Shrek Forever After, Rumpelstiltskin rules the altered kingdom, and Puss in Boots appears in the second, third and fourth films as part of the group around her.

Fiona ends the series alive, married to Shrek, still an ogre and raising their triplets. The answer to "is Fiona a human or an ogre?" is therefore that she starts the saga as a human princess under a curse, and she finishes it as an ogre by choice.

The curse is lifted in the first film, when the kiss leaves her in her true ogre form, which she accepts as her true self. In Shrek 2 she is given the chance to stay human and says no. In Shrek Forever After, the true love's kiss before sunrise cancels Rumpelstiltskin's contract and restores the original timeline, where Fiona is already married to Shrek. The altered world collapses, and Shrek is back at the birthday party moments before his meltdown.

Shrek Forever After closes the series on Shrek valuing his ordinary family life, with Fiona at the center of that home. A fifth film, Shrek 5, is scheduled for a US release on June 30, 2027, after a delay from December 23, 2026, according to Variety, and the reports do not say whether Fiona returns. Follow the status on the Shrek 5 page.

Princess Fiona's best moments are the wedding reveal in Shrek (2001), the punch and the midnight choice in Shrek 2, the prison escape in Shrek the Third and her rebel-leader introduction in Shrek Forever After.

1. The wedding in Shrek (2001). Fiona's ogre form is revealed in front of everyone as the sun sets, and the dragon eats Farquaad moments later. It is the single scene that gives the film its argument: the curse, and what she believes it says about her, is the actual obstacle, and the kiss ends the story by letting her stay as she is.

2. The punch in Shrek 2. Prince Charming kisses her and she hits him instead of falling for him. It is a quick, funny beat, and it tells you more about her character than the whole plotted romance around it.

3. Midnight in Shrek 2. Turning down the chance to stay human is the emotional high point of the second film. The midnight choice is the most important decision she makes in the series because it echoes the first film's ending and confirms it was not a one time accident.

4. The prison wall in Shrek the Third. The captured princesses get out by themselves, and Fiona is part of that group. It is a lighter entry, but it shows her as a leader who does not wait to be rescued, a reversal of how she first appears.

5. The rebel leader in Shrek Forever After. Meeting Fiona as the head of the ogre rebels, with no memory of Shrek, is the film's best idea, and the sunrise kiss pays it off. For the best Fiona material, watch Shrek 2 first, then Shrek Forever After.