Mary Hatch Bailey is a fictional character in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. She is the high school sweetheart and later wife of protagonist George Bailey (played by James Stewart as an adult and Bobby Anderson as a child). Mary is played by Donna Reed as an adult and Jean Gale as a child. She is loosely based on Mary Pratt, a character in Philip Van Doren Stern's The Greatest Gift. Mary Hatch is one of the most famous female characters in movie history.