Wendy Froud, born Wendy Midener in Detroit, is an American doll-artist, sculptor, and puppet-maker, best known for her work creating Yoda for "The Empire Strikes Back" and creatures for the Jim Henson

Jim Henson

James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...

 films The Dark Crystal

The Dark Crystal

The Dark Crystal is a 1982 British-American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Although marketed as a family film, it was notably darker than previous material created by them. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking. The primary concept artist was the...

and Labyrinth

Labyrinth

In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...

. Her work is featured in three books for children, paired with stories by fantasy author Terri Windling

Terri Windling

Terri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. Windling has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award...

: A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale, The Winter Child, and The Faeries of Spring Cottage. Wendy Froud is married to, and often collaborates with, the English "fairy artist" Brian Froud

Brian Froud

Brian Froud is an English fantasy illustrator. He lives and works in Devon with his wife, Wendy Froud, who is also a fantasy artist...

, with whom she has a son Toby, a visual artist, performance artist and filmmaker.

She is the daughter of artist Walter Midener

Walter Midener

Artist Walter Midener was born in Germany, studied at the Berlin Academy of Arts , and received an Master of Arts from Wayne State University . Midener settled in Detroit, Michigan where he became an influential sculptor and teacher...

 and collage

Collage

A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....

 artist Peggy Midener.