The Clearwater Marine Aquarium was going broke in 2005 when the baby bottlenose dolphin was brought there after getting her tail caught in a crab-trap line. The staff named her "Winter" and she lived, but her tail fluke withered away.
Winter learned to swim with just a stump and then adapted to a revolutionary prosthetic. Her inspirational story of perseverance made her a global media star, quadrupled aquarium attendance and spawned a lucrative line of toys, books and other merchandise.
The charismatic animal now plays herself in "Dolphin Tale."
The family-friendly 3-D movie stars Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson. It opens Sept. 23.
